Accessing your pension early

Whether you have a defined benefit or defined contribution pension scheme, you can often start taking benefits from the age of 55. You could use this to help top up your salary if you are still working or to enable you to work fewer hours or even retire early. You may also be able to release a cash sum from your pension too.

Often the first 25% of the fund will be tax-free if taken as a cash sum. The remaining 75% would be counted as income and taxed in the usual way. So care needs to be taken as could push you into a higher income tax bracket for that financial year. Which part of your pension you take also effects what levels you can contribute back into a pension in the future. If you just take the 25% tax free lump sum, you can continue to contribute up to £40,000 per annum into a pension. However, if you take out any of the remaining 75% taxable portion of your pension, the amount you can contribute into a pension each year reduces to £4,000 per annum.

One particular scam to be wary of and avoid is companies claiming they can access your pension money before the age 55. Accessing your pension before age 55 is viewed as an unauthorised payment in most circumstances. The tax you will pay for accessing can be up to 55%, as well as charges of up to 30% by the firm which does it for you. If a website or marketing brochure advertises that you can or should access your pension before the age of 55, it is unlikely they will be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and any advice or guidance they give you will be unregulated. This means you will not be able to complain to a regulator if anything goes wrong. There are two instances when you can legally access pension money under age 55. The first is if you’re too ill to work or if you have a serious illness which means you are expected to live for less than a year. The second is when you have a protected pension age lower than age 55. An example of someone who might have a ‘protected retirement age’ might be a professional sportsperson.

Pension scams have increased recently due to the Coronavirus impact on the economy and people having financial difficulties due to job losses. One particular scam to be wary of and avoid is companies claiming they can access your pension money before the age 55 If you are planning to access your pension and are unsure of the rules or how to do so, make sure you seek professional advice and consult a regulated financial adviser. You can check if the advisory firm is authorised and regulated to give financial advice by going to the FCA register on their website.

The ‘Tea and Tech’ sessions happening across North Somerset will teach residents how to get online and use today’s technology - and enjoy a cup of tea while they’re at it! In this cost-of-living crisis, it’s more important than ever to bridge the digital divide. Not being online means missing out on basic activities that most people take for granted, like looking for jobs, finding local support, getting essential health information, and using digitised public services.. Free tech sessions to help tackle this are available here.

Cllr Catherine Gibbons, Executive Member for Children, Young People, Lifelong Learning and Skills at North Somerset Council said: “These sessions are a great opportunity as not being online during the current cost of living crisis means you won’t easily be able to shop around for the best deal, access helpful and local cost of living advice on the North Somerset Council website or contact key organisations for the latest online support. We want to narrow the digital divide and help everyone feel more confident accessing online services and finding the right information to help them through these challenging times. Free technical learning sessions are taking place across North Somerset so sign up to a session or pop into your local library for more advice.” Libraries can help anyone wishing to increase their digital knowledge. Computers are available in libraries as well as free Wi-Fi for anyone bringing their own device. Staff can help you access the Internet as well as use printing/scanning facilities. Click here for more information:

Residents facing digital exclusion through not being able to afford sim cards and mobile data can also access them for free thanks to a scheme available through North Somerset Council's library service. The UK National Databank provides free sims and mobile data (as well as talk minutes and texts) to people in need through the Good Things Foundation’s network of local community partners, including North Somerset libraries. It’s like a food bank but for internet connectivity data. Anyone over 18 from a low-income household who qualifies in at least one of the following ways can obtain data vouchers from their local library: Has no access or insufficient access to the internet at home, and/or has no or insufficient access to the internet when away from home, and/or can’t afford their existing monthly contract or top-up. Residents who need a data voucher should contact their local library to make an appointment to collect it. For details of North Somerset libraries visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/libraries, email libraries@n-somerset.gov.uk or telephone 01934 426 834 9

Bristol will feel more festive than ever this year with the unveiling of new sparkly Christmas lights and a Love Bristol Gift Card campaign designed to invite shoppers to the city to support local business this winter.

Bristol City Centre BID, Redcliffe & Temple BID and Broadmead BID have joined forces for 2022 to bring festive spirit to all corners of the city. Corn Street will be transformed into Bristol’s answer to Carnaby Street with a love themed light installation adorning the historic street. With eight love lyrics to be spotted (and selfied under!), the city’s residents and visitors are sure to be feeling the love (Bristol) this Christmas. The city centre is now lit up after dark with Christmas light installations on King Street and the Old City, Park Street and Queens Road. Park Street is once again lit with stunning festoon lighting, which was launched in 2021, and this has been extended into Queens Road this year. The Love Bristol disco balls also return bringing sparkle to the streets outside the Clayton Hotel, Mother’s Ruin, Mr Wolf’s, Four Wise Monkeys and the Queen Shilling. You can expect to see the city twinkling once the lights turn on from 14 November. In Broadmead, over-street Christmas lights have this year been joined by new canopies on Merchant Street North and South alongside sparkly tree lights on Union Street and The Horsefair, illuminated from 4th November. You can also find Broadmead’s highly successful Sunday market returning for a Christmassy edition, Festive Sundays Broadmead, operated by Better Events. On 20th November, and 4th, 11th and 18th December, the local, ethical market will showcase the best of Christmas gifts, including wreaths, handmade crafts and decorations from Bristol and beyond. Just in time for Christmas stocking fillers, the BIDs have also launched a new edition of the Love Bristol Gift Card: the Love Bristol Night Out Gift Card, shining a light on the businesses that make the Bristol night-time economy so diverse and exciting. With hotels, theatres, restaurants, clubs and bars throughout the city centre featured, the Night Out Gift Card is sure to make the perfect present for the city’s night owls this Christmas.

Brought to life in a campaign by the BIDs, a series of digital and print creatives have launched, demonstrating how the Love Bristol Gift Card means the best of Bristol is in the palm of your hand this Christmas - all ready to be gifted to loved ones. Vicky Lee, Head of Bristol City Centre BID, said: “Whether you’re looking to treat your loved ones to sneakers, paint supplies, vintage clothes or a night out at one of Bristol’s best restaurants, the Love Bristol Gift Card has it all and is sure to delight when recipients find it in their stockings on Christmas morning. Our city has so much to offer and we’re thrilled that the most wonderful time of the year is finally here to see it sparkle even more than it usually does, through the festive lights and love lyrics that have appeared throughout the city.” The lighting schemes across the city centre utilise LED lighting fixtures and components which are incredibly energy efficient and have a longer lifespan than other traditional lighting features.