Changes to the age that people can begin to
collect their
pensions will have little bearing in the real world because of
the lack of individuals taking early
retirement, it has been suggested.
From April 6th next year, the earliest age that a person can begin
to draw
a pension will rise from 50 to 55, with the change affecting
both personal and
company pensions .
This has given those under 55 a little over three months to decide
whether to claim any
funds from their pensions while they still have the opportunity
to do so.
However, Nigel Callaghan, pensions analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown,
believes that because so few workers are in the position to
retire before 55, the adjustment will only affect a small
percentage of cases.
He said: Most people when they set off on their
pension planning journey think that they are going to retire
usually between 60 and 65.
So the fact that the earliest you can retire is increasing
from 50 to 55 is not going to be of that much interest to the
majority of people because most people sadly are just not in a
position to retire at 50.
Mr Callaghan also advised against withdrawing benefits too early as
nowadays life expectancy is higher, which means that the money also
has to survive a longer timeframe.
