BigMatt has got most of it spot on. You can of course take the tax free cash, which is usually 25% (some older schemes can be more). You can then put the rest into what is called drawdown, but not actually take it until a later point. Bear in mind that once you have taken your pension, the 75% balance is subject to 35% tax in the event of your ...

Buying from the high street is generally not recommended as they are usually tied to one provider - you often will pay too much for too little. Think not so much adviser, more salesperson. Equally, online comparison websites often show you the chepates, but not always the most suitable/best value. Brian

Just to clarify, pensions advice is far from the exclusive domain of Chartered Financial Planners (who are IFA's). A Chartered Financial Planner is an IFA with additional technical qualifications, as is a Certified Financial Planner. Very few IFA's wouldn't be able to deal comprehensively with pensions queries. Brian

I assume from your post Cruiser that you're sticking with the original pension provider and perhaps have not considered moving it to a different provider? Brian

The post office's BTL rate is quite alot higher than Northern Rock's standard variable rate. You may be better off considering a straightforward BTL remortgage plus a secured or unsecured loan which you can pay off quickly (higher rate over a shorter term would cost less than a lower rate over a longer term). If you have your own main ...

I would suggest that you don;t have to go down the all or nothing route - you can have part of your mortgage on interest only and part on repayment if needs be. First thing to remember is that you should have around 3 months salary in an easy access account for emergencies. Cash ISA's are worth looking at for their tax efficiencies (up to ...

I'm more of an Aston Martin man myself (I wish!!!)

Hi Devillina Life and critical illness cover is a good start. Life cover is often taken up to retirement age, whereas critical illness cover should be taken for as long as you can and are likely to be able to afford the premiums. Level or increasing cover are the best options, and you may need to ask for the convertible option on the critical ...

Hi Fiona If you have or are unlikely to have any dependents, then life insurance may not be the highest priority for you. MPPI does not usually include critical illness cover (CIC) - that's a separate type of cover. critical illness is worth having as you're more likely to suffer from and survive a critical illness than suffer from and ...

Income protection (IPI) rarely, if ever, covers unemployment - IPI covers loss of income due to inability to work through sickness/accident. You may be thinking about ASU (accident, sickness and unemployment) or MPPI (mortgage payment protection insurance). If you pay relgular premiums you'll be able to work out who it is from your bank ...