Summation of the facts but it does make you think doesn't it. Medical science is helping mankind live longer but it seems that we should feel guilty for being a drain on society for taking our pension that we've paid for. Just to cheer you up……how did a pension we all paid into suddenly become a benefit. ????? Worth some thought - Where did all the money go???? THE ONLY THING WRONG WITH THE GOVERNMENT'S CALCULATION OF AVAILABLE PENSION IS THAT THEY FORGOT TO FIGURE IN ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DIED BEFORE THEY EVER COLLECTED OLD AGE PENSION. WHERE DID ALL THAT MONEY GO? Remember, not only did you and I contribute to our Pension, our employer did, too. It totalled 15% of your income before taxes. If you averaged only £15,000 over your working life, that's close to £220,500. Read that again. Did you see anywhere that the Government paid in one single penny ? We are talking about the money you and your employer put in a Government bank to ensure that you and I would have a retirement pension from the money we put in, it was not money that the Government had any right to spend elsewhere. Now they've started to call the money we paid in an 'entitlement' when we reach the age to take it back. If you calculate the future invested value of £2500 per year (yours & your employer's contribution) at a simple 5% interest (that's less than what the govt. pays on the money that it borrows from overseas), after 49 years of working you'd have £892,919.98. If you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive £26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years (that means until you're 95 if you retire at age 65) and that's with no interest paid on that final amount on deposit ! If you bought an annuity with the money and it paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of £1976.40 per month. THE CROOKS IN GOVERNMENT HAVE PULLED OFF A BIGGER ROBBERY THAN THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERS EVER DID. Entitlement !!?? My foot !! IT'S MY MONEY !! I paid IN cash for my pension. Just because they borrowed the money to spend on other things, that doesn't make my pension some kind of charity or hand out!! Remember MP's benefits ? --- free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 days paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days. Now that really should be called welfare entitlements, yet they have the nerve to call my O A P retirement payments entitlements ? We're "broke" and the government can't help our own OAPs, our ex-service personnel, our orphans or our homeless. Yet in the past few years we have provided aid to Haiti, Chile, Turkey, India, Pakistan, etc., etc., etc. Literally, BILLIONS of Pounds !!! And they can't help our own citizens ! Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed old age pension have to beg social services to receive additional aid, while our government and religious organisations pour hundreds of billions of £££ tons of food to foreign countries ! They call the old age pension an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives, and now, when it's time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from it in the first place ? It was supposed to be in a securely locked box, not to be used as part of the Government's general funds. PS Our Road Tax payments should go back to paying for the maintenance of our roads, like they were meant for.... Who changed that?

Hi I have found out that someone i Know is getting full Pension Credit his wife also works 40+ hours a week and they get FULL Housing and Council Tax Benefit. Surely this cant be right. Anyone know if this is right, or are they committing Benefit Fraud? Thanks in Advance

It seems this is being snuck in under the radar from 1st April while we are watching Cameron and his EU antics. Previously you could be absent from Great Britain for a period of 13 weeks for example on holiday and still receive benefits such as Pension credit etc. However this has changed from 13 weeks to 4 weeks and does create a problem as many people go to Spain for the winter especially if you suffer from arthritis as the UK winter can be a killer. See here for more information

my question is regarding my pension pot which I have taken it was with the national coal board, I received it 7 weeks ago and reported this to pension credit as it was over £10,000 but below £16,000 my ncb pension was paid monthly which has now stopped. I was told by pension credit I would receive extra money as it would be treated as what they call a better off claim plus they would take £1 every £500 above £10,000, after hearing nothing for 4 weeks I rang them and they just told me the same thing three more weeks have gone by and have still heard nothing, is this a normal time to wait for it to be sorted out, can anyone enlighten me please thank you

Hello everyone, I recently stopped my claim for JSA, I am still unemployed and my wife works part time. However, my father died in July last year and between my brother and I we received inheritance from the house and savings etc. This money took my savings over the threshold for benefits. So, I stopped my claim as I wasn't receiving any money and it hardly seemed worth going through the Jobcentre motions to claim nothing! Now, my question is, (and I can't seem to get through on any number for the NI or Pensions that the JCP gave me) would my leaving the JSA stop or change my pension? I worked for 20 years paying Income based contributions and then signed on for the last 6 or 7. The JCP advisor said if there was a problem I could sign on for "credit only" JSA? Would I need to do this, or can I just pay NI contributions myself while I'm looking for work? Any advice and help appreciated, thanks in advance! Andy

Hi, I'm new here. I'm currently on ESA in the support group. I received a letter a few weeks ago saying that as I'm now approaching state pension age ( 6th January 2016) I was going to be paid £111.28p a week as off 25th January. I don't qualify for the full amount of £115 as I don't have enough stamps. My question is...will I be eligible for pension credit on top of my state pension as this amount is a lot less than I was getting on ESA. I live alone. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Hi all First time on and first post so please be gentle! I am due to start receiving my state pension in January. My wife and I currently receive pension credit which we know will stop when I start to receive my pension. I have a private pension pot that I have received advice on, giving me options on annuities and lump sums. One option I am considering is a draw down option where I would only take an amount (after my state pension starts) which would keep me below the total income permitted during the current tax year before any additional tax would be due, accepting tax will be deducted on the lump sum before being paid to me. My question is how this income during the current tax year, IF TAKEN, might be interpreted in relation to the pension credit we have received weekly since April 2015. HMRC will receive a statement of my income for the year and the tax paid and by inter departmental awareness the pension credit dept may say "hang on this person must have under declared his weekly income and we want the pension credit back!!" Can lump sum drawdown of part of a pension pot be equally spread out over a tax year or is it only taken into account from the date it is received. I note that only the govt pension credit page private pensions should be taken into account from the date you can get it - As this is this now 55 is there a possibility that anyone with a pension pot that was being held in reserve till retirement will be affected as it is technically income not claimed. Sorry to be long winded but any help would be appreciated. I have spoken to pension credit and HMRC and my financial advisor couldn't larify the position.

Hello My mother has received her last ESA payment and is now a pensioner. She receives DLA middle rate for care, what is the maximum savings she can have as a pensioner? Thanks

Hi everyone, Can someone help me on compensatory awards which arise from unfair dismissal? I was a member of a final salary pension scheme. Would the loss of my pension rights be included in the 12 month cap? I understand that it could limit my claim to just 12 months salary. My claim as it stands would be for 12 months loss of earnings on its own. There is also the matter of an ACAS uplift applicable because of the actions of my ex employer. Would such an uplift be included in the 12 month cap or is it additional to? Thank you in advance for any advice

Hello. I was made bankrupt in December 1998, I was not aware of this until a couple of years ago whilst enquiring about my pension and they told me about my bankruptcy. I have recently been in touch with the Official receiver and have completed my telephone interview, they have written to the courts and confirm that my bankruptcy will end in 1 years time even though my order at the time came under the 3 year rule. They inform me that my pension still forms part of my original debt and that I will not be able to access this. My question is, can I appeal or do anything to get my pension back, it is only worth about 25,000 pound but it is a lot to me as I am on disability payments for a terminal lung disease. I left the UK in 1997 and currently live in Ireland but I have family in London. Can anyone advise me on this or put me in touch with a solicitor (who doesn't charge 200 per hour) Thanks

Hello everyone, Can anyone help with this question please? My wife gets carers allowance for me would she still be entitled to it when she gets her pension in about 2 years time. Thank you for any information its much appreciated. pin62.

Just downloaded my first payslip for my new ill-health pension of around £55 per week, less than £3000 pa, backdated for 6 months, and it shows tax deducted for the year so far of over £2000. They're apparently using tax code 1060L. I've basically been left with £547 for the whole year, barely worth the effort of claiming it and certainly not worth paying for in the first place. My only other taxable income is contribution-based ESA, support group, which is less than £6000 pa. Obviously I shouldn't be paying tax at all, which the pension payer has no way of knowing, but even if I was paying at the highest rate, surely this is far too much or have the Tories started hammering pensioners as well now? Who do I contact to query this - the pension payer or HMRC? I currently do a self-assessment for tax (even though it always ends up as nil) because I have a property which I let, but not at a profit.

Hi there I just turned 55 and looking to take upto 25 pc of my pension pot. ( tax free) it seems to be a lot trickier than I thought and was hoping for some tips please. my current provider (aegon) advised that my plan does not offer 25% tax free and told me to get a financial adviser or go to their site retirready? - I looked on this site and its more confusing all i want to do if possible is take 25pc tax free and leave the rest in a plan so do not have to pay any tax Any help is much appreciated thanks!

My wife and I are approaching 70 and receive Pension Credit. A few years ago we had a terrible experience when I was summoned to an Interview Under Caution. We couldn't imagine what lay behind the allegation of fraud that was mentioned, but nevertheless I was rather fearful of a formal recorded interview and all that this implied. My wife however, who was not a strong woman, was very badly affected by stress and significant anxiety. This began when they would not pre-advise their concerns so that I could assemble whatever supportive material would be appropriate to have with me, and then grew much worse over almost ten further weeks of furnishing information followed by long silences before ultimately stating in a brief phone call and in a very offhand manner that they had actually dropped the matter a week or so earlier and would be writing to confirm. I understand entirely the need for due-process, and certainly for not giving deliberate fraudsters any wiggle room in advance of looking them in the eye. I could however have provided at the interview all of the particulars supplied in response to drip-feed requests across the subsequent many weeks, eliminating the anxiety-escalating long silences and saving everyone's time and my wife's perpetual distress and more. "Due-process" is not simply a step-plan to be followed for DWP's information-gathering needs, it also dismissively corrodes undeserving people's lives when followed with no discrimination. My wife was not the same woman after that experience nor has been since, despite there actually being nothing to answer and the matter dropped. A glib dismissal certainly did not reset the clock. I am not able to forgive. I tried, I really did. In view of this I hope someone can help me now with some information or guidelines on a new matter ... This morning I received a DWP letter notifying me that a Customer Compliance Officer will visit us at home next week. No particular purpose given just general phrases about possible changes of circumstance and ensuring correct entitlement, and about having bank documents etc available. I told my wife who now has a genuine dread of every brown envelope arriving, and she went ashen, sat down with her face in her hands and started sobbing, all those insecurities and fears instantly on the surface again. If anyone from any of these Departments is actually reading this and didn't understand what I was saying a few lines above, think what that past effect must have been to cause this so readily some years later. And you should be bothered by it. I have told my wife that it is just a box-ticking visit to make sure we aren't missing out, that it isn't an IUC, that there is no accusation/suspicion involved, however she simply sees that "IT" is about to happen all again beginning next week. What I would like help with now please is some real-world understanding solely for myself ... I have a hard time thinking that this is just a friendly benevolent chit-chat. I suspect there has to be some underlying purpose, some information-gathering for whatever reason and prompted by some itch they now need to be seen to scratch. I've absolutely no problem providing information, but it would be nice not to be deceived in the process. Clearly DWP does nothing for other than a self-serving purpose. Can anyone comment from experience about a Customer Compliance Officer's visit that they were subjected to? Benign? Or were you hit with an IUC letter shortly afterward whether justified or not? That won't help me to know the topic, and no doubt if they are quietly gathering information to possibly support some suspicion then I won't find any clues next week either, however just being aware of a different motive will help my focus on the day. I think you could say we are a pretty nice senior couple, have daily habits for walks and visits and shopping, we have nice neighbours, are clearly retired not career benefit-fraudsters and as far as I know nobody living near knows our affairs and that we receive benefits anyway. But I am sorry, DWP is NOT just coming for a cup of tea and checking we aren't missing some entitlement. I would like to be aware if it is known that these visits are an initial ploy, can you advise me at all so I can focus suitably when they visit? With thanks.

Hi, After some advice if anyone can help. It's very complicated - well, at least it is to me as I'm totally out of my depth! I'll try to be brief... Back in 2013 I was on JSA and totally, brutally, skint. I had a small pension with Standard Life, the current value at the time was 10k. I received a cold-call from a company offering me a way to transfer my pension and release 20% of the value immediately. I was 38 at the time and even I knew that this was probably a bit dodgy as 55 seemed to be the only age this was allowed. But because I was so poor I figured that £2k now and worry about the 18k in 17 years time! The fees they charged me were horrendous, but I got £1780 and to be honest it saved my life. Fast forward two years and I had a phone call from a genuinely nice guy at HMRC asking me why I hadn't filed tax returns for my "company"! Long story short, this pension release firm had set up a holding company for me and transferred my pension funds to it, they then bought £8k worth of shares in some crazy business - I had no knowledge about any of this. The guy at HMRC basically said, "don't worry, we come across mug-punters like you all the time, your only crime is being a thick idiot, but we will come after you for 40% tax on the full 10k unless you transfer the funds into a proper SSCP" ? I've got in contact with the original firm which handled the paperwork (interestingly it's not the same company which cold-called me - they were just acting as an introducer for their commission). Again, to be fair, this firm who handled the paperwork have got back to me and said there's still about £900 my "fictitious" (to me) holding company, and the 8k shares are real. So, I've got the original share certificate coming from the business I "bought" 8k shares in, and the firm have promised to send me a check for the £900 once "they have concluded business with HMRC as they've deregulated your small stakeholder pension fund". I hope the above makes sense, as it barely does to me. I guess my question is, IF I get sent a cheque for £900, and IF these shares turn out to be worth more than the paper they're written on and I sell them, then do I need to tell HMRC and pay 40% tax, or do I wait for them to ask for it in the fullness of time. I'm still on JSA. Thanks if anyone takes the time to make sense of the above. And please feel free to ask me more questions - I'll answer to the best of my ability.

Hi Hope I am on the right forum here. I have just received a letter from my employers regarding my pension. It is an auto enrolment pension I have been contributing for the last 12-18 months. Company pension was locked 2 years ago and I have no contributions in that one. I am clueless about what this letter means so if anyone out there is able to help me, that would be great. Letter is headed Auto Enrolment Pension Scheme Contents ........ "it has come to light that members of the auto enrolment scheme have been receiving incorrect tax relief on their pension contributions. Tax relief has been applied to your monthly salary, and in addition Scottish Widows the pension provider has applied tax relief to your pension account. To correct the situation we have asked Scottish Widows to repay HMRC the tax relief claimed in error as soon as possible. Going forwards the most efficient way for you to get tax relief on your pension contributions is via salary sacrifice. This requires you to accept a reduction in your salary in return for the company paying your pension contribution. The net effect will be that your NI contributions will be lower. This change will result in a change to your contract of employment. PSS (pension salary sacrifice) will not reduce any benefits that you receive from the company or your pension contributions as a result of lower NIC's you will be slightly better off. It says I have to respond before next Friday 31st July 2015 but I have no idea what this means to me. If I take part - I will cease to make pension contributions to the plan as an employee + my gross salary will be reduced by my gross pension salary contribution + company will increase its contributions by the amount equivalent to contributions previously made by me + a lower salary means I pay less NIC therefore my pay increases. Doesn't tell me what happens if I don't take part. My initial thought is to opt out and stop the pension now. But does anyone have any idea what the implications are for opting in or out of the pension salary sacrifice? I am so confused not knowing how this affects me. Any help will be gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

Information for War Pension recipients and Armed Forces Pension Scheme members living in Greece. The financial situation in Greece continues to be subject to change and is fast moving. Veterans UK is closely monitoring developments but given the recent banking restrictions being imposed by the Greek authorities, the MOD has written to all War Pension recipients and Armed Forces Pension Scheme members living in that country offering 3 options. READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mod-pension-payments-to-those-living-in-greece

Hi Everyone, Newbie here who found this website whilst googling for information on F & F debt settlement offers. I'm looking for some advice please, on our next course of action. My husband and I jointly have 5 debtors, one of whom is our son. We used some of his inheritance money to try and pay off credit card debts when I was made redundant, something we are both deeply ashamed to admit. In 2010 we sought the help of the CAB who arranged a debt management plan with our debtors. We have been paying minimal amounts ever since as we have virtually no disposable income. This what we currently owe:- Tesco credit card debt 2994 Natwest credit card debt 11,811 M & S card 6099 Store card 900 (This account has been sold on to Moorcroft and was the smallest sum!!) Son 9000 We are paying them a total of £25 per month (between them all, excluding son) and as my husband and I are 56 and 57, I don't see our financial position improving substantially any time soon. We have substantial mortgage shortfall on various endowment policies and this needs to become a priority for us, if it's ever to get paid off!! (We re-mortgaged 3 times to pay off credit card debts over the years). due to the changes in the law I can now access a pension lump sum of about £10k and was going to try for a F & F settlement of our debts with this sum just so that we don't have this hanging over our heads right into retirement. I don't see that we will ever be able to pay off the full amounts owed to the credit card companies. Our son has agreed not to press us for any amount now, he knows we have no way of getting more money at present. We will eventually inherit a lump sum from our mother in law and will pay him then, but she's currently in rude health So, should I try and use my pension to pay off these debtors, and is it likely that they would accept such a small percentage of their total debt? We are not worried about what's on our credit record now as it must be totally trashed and we never want another credit card anyway. Also as we are homeowners is it likely that they will try and get money from us if we ever sell the house (which we don't want to do)? Many thanks for any advice.

Hi all. I am a bit confused. I received a self assessment form recently. The first one for many years. My only income is State Pension. I went on-line to find some info. I went through the form filling process and at the end it said that I should not be required to send in a self assessment form and to phone for conformation. I phoned and was told that I had to pay tax on my STATE PENSION on anything over the tax free allowance of £10,600, needless to say I was gobsmacked. If this is the case, I think that a lot of people who receive State Pension are unaware that they need to pay tax on it.

Hello, I have just had a phone conversation regarding my pension credit. I was happy with everything and they are going to send someone out to visit my home. Anyway, during the conversation, he said to me "I'll just do a hmrc check" then came back, pause and said everything is fine. This just slightly concerned me.......does anyone know what the purpose of this check is? Thanks

Hi, My father made a claim last week, everything went as expected and they told him the amount he can expect to receive(which wasn't much) and that my father can expect a home visit. He thought about it over the weekend and decided the amount wasn't worth the hassle and he didn't want anyone coming to his door anyway..... As he hadn't actually received any money I thought it would be simple to close the claim with a telephone call, but apparently not. They've asked him to send them a letter instructing them that he no longer wants it. Is this normal practice? Seems like a long winded way to go about things

I am on pension credit and recently my two children have inherited enough money between them that if counted towards family savings will take us considerably over £16000. Do childrens savings affect my Pension credit.

From today's Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3117474/What-pensions-shambles-Revolution-crisis-savers-barred-taking-cash-charged-1-000-just-advice-scandal-worse-PPI.html HB

In 1994 my oh was medically retired from work . At the time he had a private pension which had been miss old to him as he had worked in a factory which had a private pension scheme . In 2000 we contested this and won and he was just wrote a few letters really anyhow he got his pension and all was backdated. These new pension reforms had got me thinking and I was sure he was never offered a tax free lump sum and the paperwork is in the least vague . We asked them to send us the pension pot fund figure as we never had it (195,225.88) so not small ! And it confirmed that we never took a tax free lump sum . We were never offered it! What I am wondering is should we have been we do get a good pension but pay tax on it and had we took the lump sum would we have been better off? I would be grateful if anyone had any advice

I have just got a statement from my NHS pension and I cant make any sense of it, it says its worth so much in a lump sum and so much piension at retirement age, is that either I can take it as a lump sum or as a yearly pension please? Plus so much survivor pension...I dont have a partner nor did I have one when I took out my pension, the lump sum for survivng dependant children is no good either as my children are all over the cut off age!