How to Raise Money Fast.



Posted: Thursday, September 09, 2010

by Nick Malyon
http://www.soepensions.co.uk/

The internet is full of articles on how to raise cash quickly. There are a multitude of money making ideas and get rich quick schemes and a wide variety of help and advice on the various ways to save and raise cash fast. These ideas range from "getting a part time or second job", to the "selling some of your possessions at a car boot sale or on ebay" and on to the more extreme examples like taking part in medical trials. Although many of us have may have some equity tied up our homes, the recent cut backs in bank and building society lending has meant that loans and remortgages have become increasingly hard to obtain.

If you feel that you have exhausted all of the usual ways for raising money then there is a provision within U.K. pension law that could allow you to release some of the money that you have invested into your pension over your working lifetime. If you are aged between 55 and 62 years old and hold a U.K. private or company pension which you are not already taking benefits from, even if you are not currently paying into it, you may be eligible to access up to 25% of your pension as a tax free lump sum. This can be done without having to retire and without having to take your retirement income through the purchase of an annuity. You can carry on working and continue to make further contributions to your pension which will continue to benefit from a tax efficient environment.

Before embarking on pension release you will need to seek the advice of an Independent Financial Adviser. They will be authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial watchdog set up by the Goverment to regulate financial services and protect your rights. Thier details can be easily be checked with the FSA. Most Independent Financial Advisers will offer a free, no obligation review of your pension, or pensions, looking in detail at exit penalties and charges and at your own personal circumstances and situation. With this information they will be able to analyse the various options available to you. They will explain to you how taking benefits now will affect your retirement plans or your current tax situation and if you are currently receiving any state benefits they will let you know how taking your pension now could impact on them.

Your financial adviser will offer the highest service standards and once you have filled out the pension release enquiry form and they have all the required information from your pension company, they will complete each stage of the process by return of post. They will liase and chase all third parties to ensure the quickest turnaround times. Potentially you could be in receipt of your Tax Free Cash within 20 working days.

Your adviser will take the requirements of the Financial Services Authority very seriously, in particular the requirement to treat their customers fairly. They will strive to do this in all that they do. They will undertake that all of their actions will be guided by the principle that the interests of their customers are paramount. Their systems and procedures are designed to place the customer at the heart of their business.

Because pension release will ultimately reduce the income that you will receive in retirement your financial adviser will make sure that you have looked at all the other possible alternatives for raising money and make sure that you are fully aware of the implications of embarking on pension release. The FSA see this as a high risk activity which should only be undertaken when all other avenues have been explored and it is therefore extremely important to remember that pension release is only suitable for a very limited number of people and circumstances.

Nick Malyon writes on behalf of S.O.E. Consultants Limited, a firm specialising in pension release in the U.K.
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