What Can I do With My Pension From My Old Job?

What Can I do With My Pension From My Old Job?

We deal with a lot of queries from people who had pensions in a previous employment and they now want to know what rights and options they have when it comes to those pensions. 

The first thing to say at the outset is that the money in your old pension is still your money and it is important that you take an interest in this pension and know what’s going on with it. 

Even though there will be a number of different options available to you, the majority of people that we advise on this question decide to transfer the money in their old pensions away from their old employer pension scheme and into a pension in their own name which is called a Personal Retirement Bond (PRB). 

If you move your old pension into a Personal Retirement Bond in your own name :

• You can have more control over your pension and normally you can have online access to keep an eye on the value and performance of your pension.
• You can make changes to your pension or get cash out of your pension (when allowed to do so) without needing to have any contact with your previous employer.

If you are age 50 or older, then you will probably have the option of receiving 25% of your Personal Retirement Bond as a TAX FREE lump sum.

We often find that our clients choose to access their tax free lump sum and use the money to pay off their mortgage or to pay for college fees for their children.

For other clients it’s more important to keep their personal retirement bond intact and to keep it invested to fund their retirement into the future.

Normally we can let a person know the options that are available to them with their old workplace pension during a short telephone conversation. You can then decide on the right course of action for you.

So if you have some paperwork on your pension from your old job, then get in touch and we will do our best to help you out. You can contact Joanne in our office on 01 5267770 or email info@guardianwealth.ie.