{"id":1454,"date":"2011-11-09T10:33:53","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T09:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/esmartproducts.co.uk\/?p=1454"},"modified":"2011-11-09T10:33:53","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T09:33:53","slug":"a-new-flexible-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/?p=1454","title":{"rendered":"A new flexible friend"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Withdrawing as little or as much income from your pension fund as you wish<\/h3>\n<p>Generating a retirement income has now become even more  flexible. From 6 April, new rules were introduced to replace the  previous pension drawdown arrangement which have now provided investors  with greater flexibility and control over their pension options when  they retire.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Qualifying for this option<\/strong><br \/>\nFlexible drawdown is more flexible than the previous income  drawdown, and if you qualify for this option it removes the cap on the  income you could take. This will not be available to everyone and there  are certain criteria that must be met before you can opt for it.<br \/>\nFlexible drawdown gives some individuals the opportunity to  withdraw as little or as much income from their pension fund, as and  when they need it. To qualify, you have to declare that you are already  receiving a secure pension income of at least \u00a320,000 a year and have  finished saving into pensions. The same rules apply to dependants who  elect flexible drawdown.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Secure pension income <\/strong><br \/>\nIf pension contributions have been made to any pension in the  same tax year or if you are still an active member of a final salary  scheme, it isn\u2019t possible to start flexible drawdown. Once in flexible  drawdown, it isn\u2019t possible to make further pension contributions.<br \/>\nA secure pension income means a company pension being paid to  you either from the UK or from overseas; or an annuity being paid to you  (from a personal pension or company pension) either from the UK or from  overseas; or a State pension being paid to you either from the UK or  from overseas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you know?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The effective compulsion to buy an annuity by age 75 has ended<\/p>\n<p>You now have more flexibility to defer taking a pension and tax-free cash payments post age 75<\/p>\n<p>Capped drawdown \u2013 this option enables you to draw an income for  life, with an annual limit, without having to purchase an annuity<\/p>\n<p>Flexible drawdown \u2013 if you have a secure income of over \u00a320,000 per annum you will not be subject to<br \/>\nlimits on the income you take from your drawdown<\/p>\n<p>There has been an increase in the tax payable on lump sum death benefits from drawdown<\/p>\n<p><strong>Flexibility and control over your pension<\/strong><br \/>\nThese new rules, with the exception of the increased tax on  death payouts, could benefit those who do not want to buy an annuity by  age 75 or who want more flexibility and control over their pension.<\/p>\n<p>However, the majority of people may still want to purchase an  annuity in retirement, because it enables them to secure a guaranteed  income in retirement.<\/p>\n<p><em>The fund value of a flexible drawdown arrangement may  fluctuate and can go down as well as up. You may not get back your  original investment. Past performance is not an indication of future  performance. Tax benefits may vary as a result of statutory change and  their value will depend on individual circumstances. Thresholds,  percentage rates and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance  Acts.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Withdrawing as little or as much income from your pension fund as you wish Generating a retirement income has now become even more flexible. From 6 April, new rules were introduced to replace the previous pension drawdown arrangement which have now provided investors with greater flexibility and control over their pension options when they retire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1454\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}