A new Government scheme will soon allow you to take cash from your pension early to pay for professional advice about your retirement. People as young as 45 will be able to withdraw up to £500 tax-free, as long as they spend it on financial advice.
The Guardian has more details on the new “pensions advice allowance” –
“An individual will be able to withdraw the money and use it to pay for advice on all the financial products they hold that will contribute towards their retirement income, such as pensions and any other savings and investments such as Isas… It’s almost certain that only those with a defined contribution (aka money purchase) pension will be able to access the new allowance. However, if you are one of many people who has had several different jobs over the years and has both defined contribution and defined benefit pensions, you will be able to use the allowance to pay for advice on all of your pension assets. Defined benefit pensions include final salary and so-called career average schemes… You will be able to use the cash to pay for any type of fully regulated financial advice – ie, personalised advice that may well include specific recommendations about products. This advice might be face-to-face, online or over the phone.”