New pension legislation is coming in on 6th April 2006 (the so-called “A-Day“), but given the confusion that surrounds pensions (hardly surprising, given that the government doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing with them half of the time), what will A-Day mean for us?
The Motley Fool has posted a good round-up, titled A-Day: The Future of Pensions.
Here are the main points:
- Retirement Age – The minimum age at which you can start taking your private or company pension will be raised from 50 to 55 by April 2010.
- Annual Contributions – Most people will be able to put more into their pension than they do at the moment.
- Tax-free lump sums – Everyone will be able to take up to 25% of their pension (up to the Single Lifetime Allowance) as a tax-free lump sum.
- Pension income – You will no longer have to take an annuity out by the age of 75.
Go and read the Motley Fool article for more detail.