Living off pension drawdown

ESBlonde

RandallFlagg said:

I have 2 pensions a preserved Defined Benefit and a current Defined Contribution that I pay into along with my employer's 11% contributions.

I am looking to take the lump sum and start drawing the preserved DB pension at 55 and use the lump sum to do some house renovations, but continue working in my current job as long as I can hack it and load up the DC pension with extra contributions.

Once I've had enough I will either retire completely and start drawing down on the DC pension or get a lower paid/more enjoyable job and take less drawdown or keep it preserved.

I have just under 3 years until I'm 55 so will be getting as much advice I can and eventually reluctantly pay for some professional advice in a year or so.

Whats the growth like on this DB fund? Does it make financial sense to borrow the money to do up the house on a mortgage top up and leave the fund growing? You get the advantage that the eventual draw down will be delayed = greater, and the tax free lump sum will also be greater because is will be on a larger fund. You have the security that the borrowings can be paid if interest rates jump, and your long term earnings are protected.

Just another angle to consider.

RandallFlagg

ESBlonde said:

RandallFlagg said:

I have 2 pensions a preserved Defined Benefit and a current Defined Contribution that I pay into along with my employer's 11% contributions.

I am looking to take the lump sum and start drawing the preserved DB pension at 55 and use the lump sum to do some house renovations, but continue working in my current job as long as I can hack it and load up the DC pension with extra contributions.

Once I've had enough I will either retire completely and start drawing down on the DC pension or get a lower paid/more enjoyable job and take less drawdown or keep it preserved.

I have just under 3 years until I'm 55 so will be getting as much advice I can and eventually reluctantly pay for some professional advice in a year or so.

Whats the growth like on this DB fund? Does it make financial sense to borrow the money to do up the house on a mortgage top up and leave the fund growing? You get the advantage that the eventual draw down will be delayed = greater, and the tax free lump sum will also be greater because is will be on a larger fund. You have the security that the borrowings can be paid if interest rates jump, and your long term earnings are protected.

Just another angle to consider.

No further contributions are being made to the DB fund as it's preserved from a job I left in 2002 The benefit is defined based on my final salary when I exited the scheme and the length of service so it's fixed, it will be index linked after I start drawing it.

The only variable now is the penalty for taking it earlier than 65 (the schemes defined 'normal pension age'). I get an annual statement which shows the reduced pension at 55 plus the tax free sum and it's not really worth holding out for another 10 years beyond 55 as the reduction isn't that great as the commutation factor is favourable on this scheme.

FastEddie

Barney said:

FastEddie said:

Jalapeno said:

Gordon Brown fucked the private pension industry right royally, meaning DC pension funds' could no longer make big profits, and hence deliver decent pensions. GB wanted as many people to rely on state pensions as he could muster to create a dependent electorate. We're all living with that now ...

The lump sum whilst fair, did mean that there were some horror stories of people's life savings being trashed.

His shot was the first.
Other limits are the total, £1,030,000. GP's are retiring early because of this causing a shortage. Others are hit as well.
The scrapping of the higher rate of tax relief is another. 100% of income or £40k whichever is the max, that's all you can put in.
It's not effecting the majority but it does stop people saving which has an impact.

I said earlier that Pension Wise or the Pensions Advisory Service are Gov services. Both give good guidance on the options. 

The best way to maximise pension planning is to get your charges as low as possible. Pay IFA's a fixed fee is you can and do not give them an annual % of your fund. They are not fund managers. I speak from the industry.

I pay 1% to an advisor when I got 2 pensions tranfered ...is this the same thing ...he takes 1% a year but said the other 2 pensions that I got transferred were taking any ways so I was saving money ?

Transferring pensions from pot to pot is very often just about doing the admin. 
With a bit of research you can do it yourself. 

Financial Advisers are NOT fund managers. What I mean by that is that they cannot manage the money. They point you at funds, that's all. The training they have is nothing close to what is really needed to give a very strong recommendation.

I was an IFA for a while and got my book up to tens of millions. When I became qualified as a fund manager I was shocked at just how little I knew!

I've not met an IFA who can fully justify taking 1% on an annual basis. They are just meeting you and chatting through ideas and commentary that they get given. I'm not talking down all IFA's, just pretty much all of the ones I've met. You may 'like' your IFA but I don't pay my friend's 1% of my investments each year. If they suggest a fund which does well then that is luck. There is a proven hypothesis called 'Efficient Market Hypothesis' which pretty much calls out most of the fund management industry as selling snake oil. 

Charges destroy value and force you (the investor) to take more risk than you need. Low cost trackers across many different countries. That's how to add value and hedge.

My clients were charged on a fixed fee basis as and when they needed their portfolio's re-balancing. We ended up so busy I was burned out and had to sell my business. I couldn't keep up. 

Low cost SIPPS such as AJ Bell and Alliance Trust are my choice. I use Alliance Trust. Just re-balance every 24 months. Simple as you like and cheap as chips.

I'm not out to offend IFA's but this is something were good desktop research and speaking to providers can save you a packet. 
Oh, providers will help you a lot. It's just filling out paperwork in many cases. 

If you have a DB scheme, defined benefit, you need to speak to a financial adviser who is a true pensions specialist. There are lots of awkward math behind these schemes which needs to be considered very carefully indeed.

ToneControl

RandallFlagg said:

ESBlonde said:

RandallFlagg said:

I have 2 pensions a preserved Defined Benefit and a current Defined Contribution that I pay into along with my employer's 11% contributions.

I am looking to take the lump sum and start drawing the preserved DB pension at 55 and use the lump sum to do some house renovations, but continue working in my current job as long as I can hack it and load up the DC pension with extra contributions.

Once I've had enough I will either retire completely and start drawing down on the DC pension or get a lower paid/more enjoyable job and take less drawdown or keep it preserved.

I have just under 3 years until I'm 55 so will be getting as much advice I can and eventually reluctantly pay for some professional advice in a year or so.

Whats the growth like on this DB fund? Does it make financial sense to borrow the money to do up the house on a mortgage top up and leave the fund growing? You get the advantage that the eventual draw down will be delayed = greater, and the tax free lump sum will also be greater because is will be on a larger fund. You have the security that the borrowings can be paid if interest rates jump, and your long term earnings are protected.

Just another angle to consider.

No further contributions are being made to the DB fund as it's preserved from a job I left in 2002 The benefit is defined based on my final salary when I exited the scheme and the length of service so it's fixed, it will be index linked after I start drawing it.

The only variable now is the penalty for taking it earlier than 65 (the schemes defined 'normal pension age'). I get an annual statement which shows the reduced pension at 55 plus the tax free sum and it's not really worth holding out for another 10 years beyond 55 as the reduction isn't that great as the commutation factor is favourable on this scheme.

There are strict HMRC rules on contributing into pensions once you have started drawing a pension
They aren't simple either: they also forbid you from doing things like putting more in just before you retire, especially if you have remortgaged your house or taken out a loan recently 

be very careful, there are large fines for getting this wrong

https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/pensions/contributions-and-tax-relief/recycling-of-tax-free-cash/

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/saving-into-a-pension/pensions-and-tax/pension-lump-sum-recycling

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-3256132/How-does-pension-recycling-work-good-tax-trick.html

ToneControl

FastEddie said:

Barney said:

FastEddie said:

Jalapeno said:

Gordon Brown fucked the private pension industry right royally, meaning DC pension funds' could no longer make big profits, and hence deliver decent pensions. GB wanted as many people to rely on state pensions as he could muster to create a dependent electorate. We're all living with that now ...

The lump sum whilst fair, did mean that there were some horror stories of people's life savings being trashed.

His shot was the first.
Other limits are the total, £1,030,000. GP's are retiring early because of this causing a shortage. Others are hit as well.
The scrapping of the higher rate of tax relief is another. 100% of income or £40k whichever is the max, that's all you can put in.
It's not effecting the majority but it does stop people saving which has an impact.

I said earlier that Pension Wise or the Pensions Advisory Service are Gov services. Both give good guidance on the options. 

The best way to maximise pension planning is to get your charges as low as possible. Pay IFA's a fixed fee is you can and do not give them an annual % of your fund. They are not fund managers. I speak from the industry.

I pay 1% to an advisor when I got 2 pensions tranfered ...is this the same thing ...he takes 1% a year but said the other 2 pensions that I got transferred were taking any ways so I was saving money ?

Transferring pensions from pot to pot is very often just about doing the admin. 
With a bit of research you can do it yourself. 

Financial Advisers are NOT fund managers. What I mean by that is that they cannot manage the money. They point you at funds, that's all. The training they have is nothing close to what is really needed to give a very strong recommendation.

I was an IFA for a while and got my book up to tens of millions. When I became qualified as a fund manager I was shocked at just how little I knew!

I've not met an IFA who can fully justify taking 1% on an annual basis. They are just meeting you and chatting through ideas and commentary that they get given. I'm not talking down all IFA's, just pretty much all of the ones I've met. You may 'like' your IFA but I don't pay my friend's 1% of my investments each year. If they suggest a fund which does well then that is luck. There is a proven hypothesis called 'Efficient Market Hypothesis' which pretty much calls out most of the fund management industry as selling snake oil. 

Charges destroy value and force you (the investor) to take more risk than you need. Low cost trackers across many different countries. That's how to add value and hedge.

My clients were charged on a fixed fee basis as and when they needed their portfolio's re-balancing. We ended up so busy I was burned out and had to sell my business. I couldn't keep up. 

Low cost SIPPS such as AJ Bell and Alliance Trust are my choice. I use Alliance Trust. Just re-balance every 24 months. Simple as you like and cheap as chips.

I'm not out to offend IFA's but this is something were good desktop research and speaking to providers can save you a packet. 
Oh, providers will help you a lot. It's just filling out paperwork in many cases. 

If you have a DB scheme, defined benefit, you need to speak to a financial adviser who is a true pensions specialist. There are lots of awkward math behind these schemes which needs to be considered very carefully indeed.

I agree, most IFAs have a small level of sales training 

Ideally for actual investment advice you'd be wanting people with degrees in maths / economics / accounting and/or detailed experience of the stock market or unit trusts

For most people trackers are a great idea, and as you say fees kill funds, especially when growth is slow or non-existent

Lodious

FastEddie said:

I'm not out to offend IFA's 

OK, I'll do it. Lazy, overcompensated biscuit eating pricks who promise much and deliver little IME. I've only used 3 in my lifetime, and without exception, they were all hopeless.

 I've gone down the SIPP route and feel happier and more 'invested' in the pension process. I'd love to find a decent IFA, I think it's a valuable role, but the one's I've met have been a total waste of space. 

ToneControl

I remember the first time I got a pension set up in the late 90s

I did some homework, so I knew as much as I could from the web and literature

My requirements were:
Contribution Pension
low fees
Employer could pay in, I could pay in
Lots of different funds to choose, no fee to switch
I might work outside UK for some years, must be possible to stop contributions

I called 2 local IFAs for an appointment, to get more than one view

Second one calls me up, and says he is cancelling the appointment because he has a "gentlemen's agreement" to not compete with the first one. Hmmmm

I go to the first one, he tries to sell me a quite good Skandia policy.
Except that reading the small print, there is a penalty charge of 0.9% for each month you don't pay a monthly contribution, and I happen to know you are not allowed to contribute when working outside the UK. So I would lose around 10% of my fund for every year away!
He tries to bully me into buying it
Tries that trick where he asks you for reasons not to buy it now, then remaining silent for 2-3 minutes after you have stopped answering to unnerve you. Tosser, but I nearly laughed out loud.

That's the kind of class act that's out there

RandallFlagg

ToneControl said:

RandallFlagg said:

ESBlonde said:

RandallFlagg said:

I have 2 pensions a preserved Defined Benefit and a current Defined Contribution that I pay into along with my employer's 11% contributions.

I am looking to take the lump sum and start drawing the preserved DB pension at 55 and use the lump sum to do some house renovations, but continue working in my current job as long as I can hack it and load up the DC pension with extra contributions.

Once I've had enough I will either retire completely and start drawing down on the DC pension or get a lower paid/more enjoyable job and take less drawdown or keep it preserved.

I have just under 3 years until I'm 55 so will be getting as much advice I can and eventually reluctantly pay for some professional advice in a year or so.

Whats the growth like on this DB fund? Does it make financial sense to borrow the money to do up the house on a mortgage top up and leave the fund growing? You get the advantage that the eventual draw down will be delayed = greater, and the tax free lump sum will also be greater because is will be on a larger fund. You have the security that the borrowings can be paid if interest rates jump, and your long term earnings are protected.

Just another angle to consider.

No further contributions are being made to the DB fund as it's preserved from a job I left in 2002 The benefit is defined based on my final salary when I exited the scheme and the length of service so it's fixed, it will be index linked after I start drawing it.

The only variable now is the penalty for taking it earlier than 65 (the schemes defined 'normal pension age'). I get an annual statement which shows the reduced pension at 55 plus the tax free sum and it's not really worth holding out for another 10 years beyond 55 as the reduction isn't that great as the commutation factor is favourable on this scheme.

There are strict HMRC rules on contributing into pensions once you have started drawing a pension
They aren't simple either: they also forbid you from doing things like putting more in just before you retire, especially if you have remortgaged your house or taken out a loan recently 

be very careful, there are large fines for getting this wrong

https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/pensions/contributions-and-tax-relief/recycling-of-tax-free-cash/

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/saving-into-a-pension/pensions-and-tax/pension-lump-sum-recycling

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-3256132/How-does-pension-recycling-work-good-tax-trick.html

Noted, I will take advice on this, I don't think I will be deliberately recycling but will need to make sure I have evidence to make it clear.

ToneControl

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/pensions-tax-manual/ptm133830

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/pensions-tax-manual/ptm133820

this one
https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/pensions/contributions-and-tax-relief/Money-purchase-annual-allowance/
sounds like taking a final salary scheme does not affect your right to add to your DC pension without a £4k limit
I would ring up HMRC or some other official advice service and get this confirmed

ZenOvertone

Really interesting discussion, like a few here in my early 50's I'm thinking of jumping off the treadmill after years & years of Corporate BS and endless Excel & Powerpoint (I don't want my epitaph to be "he did bloody nice slides"). 
Does anyone know the rules about adding to your pension pot from a Voluntary redundancy package, I know about the 40k limit on pension loading a year but wondered if anyone knows of any exceptions to this, maybe as a one off?  A few people I know are thinking of taking the first 30k tax free then loading the rest into the pension (in one case, with a view to take the 25% tax free as a one off in the future...) 

ToneControl

ZenOvertone said:

Really interesting discussion, like a few here in my early 50's I'm thinking of jumping off the treadmill after years & years of Corporate BS and endless Excel & Powerpoint (I don't want my epitaph to be "he did bloody nice slides"). 
Does anyone know the rules about adding to your pension pot from a Voluntary redundancy package, I know about the 40k limit on pension loading a year but wondered if anyone knows of any exceptions to this, maybe as a one off?  A few people I know are thinking of taking the first 30k tax free then loading the rest into the pension (in one case, with a view to take the 25% tax free as a one off in the future...) 

you can backdate it 3 years, and so you could put in up to £160k if you had not put in anything before, and if you earned that much in a year (other than they limit what you can put in if you earn that much) 
You can't put in more than your salary though
Bear in mind there's little point  unless you are earning a lot, since it's basically a trade off between 40% + National insurance rebate (if done before PAYE) and locking your cash into a pension fund and the laws around it, so basically you don't want to be effectively reducing your salary below the higher rate tax limit.
Also it's better to wait until you are able to make the contributions as a salary sacrifice, the employer saves about 13% of what you put into your pension if you do this, and many will contribute half or all of it to your pension, plus you get your own national insurance for the sum paid in to the pot too. Don't just write a cheque.
Again, beware of those rules about suddenly increasing contributions just before retiring, if you put loads in at once, you probably need to wait 3 years before retiring to avoid fines

FastEddie

RandallFlagg said:

ToneControl said:

RandallFlagg said:

ESBlonde said:

RandallFlagg said:

I have 2 pensions a preserved Defined Benefit and a current Defined Contribution that I pay into along with my employer's 11% contributions.

I am looking to take the lump sum and start drawing the preserved DB pension at 55 and use the lump sum to do some house renovations, but continue working in my current job as long as I can hack it and load up the DC pension with extra contributions.

Once I've had enough I will either retire completely and start drawing down on the DC pension or get a lower paid/more enjoyable job and take less drawdown or keep it preserved.

I have just under 3 years until I'm 55 so will be getting as much advice I can and eventually reluctantly pay for some professional advice in a year or so.

Whats the growth like on this DB fund? Does it make financial sense to borrow the money to do up the house on a mortgage top up and leave the fund growing? You get the advantage that the eventual draw down will be delayed = greater, and the tax free lump sum will also be greater because is will be on a larger fund. You have the security that the borrowings can be paid if interest rates jump, and your long term earnings are protected.

Just another angle to consider.

No further contributions are being made to the DB fund as it's preserved from a job I left in 2002 The benefit is defined based on my final salary when I exited the scheme and the length of service so it's fixed, it will be index linked after I start drawing it.

The only variable now is the penalty for taking it earlier than 65 (the schemes defined 'normal pension age'). I get an annual statement which shows the reduced pension at 55 plus the tax free sum and it's not really worth holding out for another 10 years beyond 55 as the reduction isn't that great as the commutation factor is favourable on this scheme.

There are strict HMRC rules on contributing into pensions once you have started drawing a pension
They aren't simple either: they also forbid you from doing things like putting more in just before you retire, especially if you have remortgaged your house or taken out a loan recently 

be very careful, there are large fines for getting this wrong

https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/pensions/contributions-and-tax-relief/recycling-of-tax-free-cash/

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/saving-into-a-pension/pensions-and-tax/pension-lump-sum-recycling

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-3256132/How-does-pension-recycling-work-good-tax-trick.html

Noted, I will take advice on this, I don't think I will be deliberately recycling but will need to make sure I have evidence to make it clear.

Lodious said:

FastEddie said:

I'm not out to offend IFA's 

OK, I'll do it. Lazy, overcompensated biscuit eating pricks who promise much and deliver little IME. I've only used 3 in my lifetime, and without exception, they were all hopeless.

 I've gone down the SIPP route and feel happier and more 'invested' in the pension process. I'd love to find a decent IFA, I think it's a valuable role, but the one's I've met have been a total waste of space. 

I can plug you into good IFA's but they are expensive and charge hourly or on a fixed fee.
That's the problem. It's a similar cost to a decent lawyer or accountant.

The vast majority of people cannot afford the fees from income and as such allow the IFA take fees from the fund. 

If you want fund advice, speak to a private client fund manager.

FastEddie

ToneControl said:

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/pensions-tax-manual/ptm133830

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/pensions-tax-manual/ptm133820

this one
https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/pensions/contributions-and-tax-relief/Money-purchase-annual-allowance/
sounds like taking a final salary scheme does not affect your right to add to your DC pension without a £4k limit
I would ring up HMRC or some other official advice service and get this confirmed

The Money Purchase Annual Allowance, the £4k limit, only kicks in if you take taxable income from a drawdown type arrangement. Taking your tax free cash does not trigger it.

Be careful with the MPAA. If you get a job with a DB scheme, NHS, Local Gov, you will probably restrict the contributions you can get. The MPAA covers DB and DC contributions. 

If you have a small pot <£10k the MPAA does not come into effect.

I'd call The Pensions Advisory Service. https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/
They are very good indeed and part of the DWP so safe as houses.

ToneControl

FastEddie said:

RandallFlagg said:

I can plug you into good IFA's but they are expensive and charge hourly or on a fixed fee.
That's the problem. It's a similar cost to a decent lawyer or accountant.

The vast majority of people cannot afford the fees from income and as such allow the IFA take fees from the fund. 

If you want fund advice, speak to a private client fund manager.

They end up paying a lot more for poor advice

How much do your good IFAs cost per hour?

FastEddie

ToneControl said:

FastEddie said:

RandallFlagg said:

I can plug you into good IFA's but they are expensive and charge hourly or on a fixed fee.
That's the problem. It's a similar cost to a decent lawyer or accountant.

The vast majority of people cannot afford the fees from income and as such allow the IFA take fees from the fund. 

If you want fund advice, speak to a private client fund manager.

They end up paying a lot more for poor advice

How much do your good IFAs cost per hour?

Good question. I'm not practising anymore. Back in the day I would charge £200 ish per hour for something fairly straightforward, a bit more if I had to buy in research papers.
I'm not Chartered but do have the Advanced papers a relevant MSc and IMC. 

Clients would put us on a monthly/quarterly/annual retainer to re-balance and tweak if required. That would be from their own money or the fund. We'd charge a fixed fee but it would be capped. This bought loads of clients to us as there isn't normally a cap of fees. The more you have, the more you pay but not with our business. 

ToneControl

FastEddie said:

ToneControl said:

FastEddie said:

RandallFlagg said:

I can plug you into good IFA's but they are expensive and charge hourly or on a fixed fee.
That's the problem. It's a similar cost to a decent lawyer or accountant.

The vast majority of people cannot afford the fees from income and as such allow the IFA take fees from the fund. 

If you want fund advice, speak to a private client fund manager.

They end up paying a lot more for poor advice

How much do your good IFAs cost per hour?

Good question. I'm not practising anymore. Back in the day I would charge £200 ish per hour for something fairly straightforward, a bit more if I had to buy in research papers.
I'm not Chartered but do have the Advanced papers a relevant MSc and IMC. 

Clients would put us on a monthly/quarterly/annual retainer to re-balance and tweak if required. That would be from their own money or the fund. We'd charge a fixed fee but it would be capped. This bought loads of clients to us as there isn't normally a cap of fees. The more you have, the more you pay but not with our business. 

Thanks
How many hours does it take at that rate to give someone advice?

FastEddie

ToneControl said:

FastEddie said:

ToneControl said:

FastEddie said:

RandallFlagg said:

I can plug you into good IFA's but they are expensive and charge hourly or on a fixed fee.
That's the problem. It's a similar cost to a decent lawyer or accountant.

The vast majority of people cannot afford the fees from income and as such allow the IFA take fees from the fund. 

If you want fund advice, speak to a private client fund manager.

They end up paying a lot more for poor advice

How much do your good IFAs cost per hour?

Good question. I'm not practising anymore. Back in the day I would charge £200 ish per hour for something fairly straightforward, a bit more if I had to buy in research papers.
I'm not Chartered but do have the Advanced papers a relevant MSc and IMC. 

Clients would put us on a monthly/quarterly/annual retainer to re-balance and tweak if required. That would be from their own money or the fund. We'd charge a fixed fee but it would be capped. This bought loads of clients to us as there isn't normally a cap of fees. The more you have, the more you pay but not with our business. 

Thanks
How many hours does it take at that rate to give someone advice?

It depends on the complexity. Can be a couple for something simple and if you do the admin. With something more complex I'd give the admin to the Practice team which is cheaper and then do the tricky stuff myself. It can be thousands.

RandallFlagg

FastEddie said:

ToneControl said:

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/pensions-tax-manual/ptm133830

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/pensions-tax-manual/ptm133820

this one
https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/pensions/contributions-and-tax-relief/Money-purchase-annual-allowance/
sounds like taking a final salary scheme does not affect your right to add to your DC pension without a £4k limit
I would ring up HMRC or some other official advice service and get this confirmed

The Money Purchase Annual Allowance, the £4k limit, only kicks in if you take taxable income from a drawdown type arrangement. Taking your tax free cash does not trigger it.

Be careful with the MPAA. If you get a job with a DB scheme, NHS, Local Gov, you will probably restrict the contributions you can get. The MPAA covers DB and DC contributions. 

If you have a small pot <£10k the MPAA does not come into effect.

I'd call The Pensions Advisory Service. https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/
They are very good indeed and part of the DWP so safe as houses.

So, is it feasible to take the £30K tax free lump sum from my preserved DB (final salary) pension along with starting to taking the annual payments from at age 55, while still working and having my employer and myself pay into my other DC pension until I retire from working?

The £30K tax free lump sum would be spent on house renovations and expenditure could be evidenced to show it wasn't recycled but in the remaining years of working I would want to ramp up extra payments into the DC pension including exchanging an annual bonus  as a lump sum payment into the pension for a few years before finally retiring.

ToneControl

Possibly, but you need official confirmation from HMRC I think

Nitefly

RandallFlagg said:

So, is it feasible to take the £30K tax free lump sum from my preserved DB (final salary) pension along with starting to taking the annual payments from at age 55, while still working and having my employer and myself pay into my other DC pension until I retire from working?

Be aware at your annual payments from the DB scheme will be taxable, probably at 40% given what you said earlier about current salary.