I am aged 61 and retired last year on a defined benefits pension.
Having taken a cash lump sum on retirement this is currently sitting in a deposit account earning roughly 3%
I confess to absolute ignorance of ARF's other than the fact that by investing in one I will lessen my tax liability for 2009 - which is currently being prepared.
I'm told that I have scope to invest 25k into an ARF if I so choose in respect of 2009.
Questions:
a) Based on the simple fact that the alternative option for me is to leave it on deposit, is it sensible/wise to put it into an ARF?
b) Here I display my total ignorance! If I was to put the money into an ARF how long must I leave it there AND can I withdraw it as a lump sum at a particular point or only use it to generate an annuity?
I don't want to lock cash away long term but would be happy to go for 3 - 5 years if I knew I could take value in full at that point
c) Who should I approach if advice is to opt for an ARF/
Bottom line is that my pension is more or less OK, for the moment, so not really aiming at changing my monthly pension amount at a future date so therefore I'm really just trying to ascertain whether an ARF is a good alternative for me compared to a deposit account bearing in mind that I'm aged 61 and that I would like to be able to cash in full value when aged 65 or 66.
Hope
Having taken a cash lump sum on retirement this is currently sitting in a deposit account earning roughly 3%
I confess to absolute ignorance of ARF's other than the fact that by investing in one I will lessen my tax liability for 2009 - which is currently being prepared.
I'm told that I have scope to invest 25k into an ARF if I so choose in respect of 2009.
Questions:
a) Based on the simple fact that the alternative option for me is to leave it on deposit, is it sensible/wise to put it into an ARF?
b) Here I display my total ignorance! If I was to put the money into an ARF how long must I leave it there AND can I withdraw it as a lump sum at a particular point or only use it to generate an annuity?
I don't want to lock cash away long term but would be happy to go for 3 - 5 years if I knew I could take value in full at that point
c) Who should I approach if advice is to opt for an ARF/
Bottom line is that my pension is more or less OK, for the moment, so not really aiming at changing my monthly pension amount at a future date so therefore I'm really just trying to ascertain whether an ARF is a good alternative for me compared to a deposit account bearing in mind that I'm aged 61 and that I would like to be able to cash in full value when aged 65 or 66.
Hope