Early pension access for health reasons.... non starter!

[fossyant]

Slick tyres and look after the bike. I ride a 30 year old MTB to work down a canal for 13 miles each way, loaded with panniers. Same weight as a small elephant. I look after it. The weapon MTB is left for chucking me off mountains, and road bikes for rides outside of rush hour.

 

[cougie uk]

I was looking to change my MTB to a gravel bike for easier all year round commuting including wet weather. normally I'd save up for six months or so and drop 800 quid or so on a new bike, but yhe days when i can save a hundred a month have long gone with bills going up, again interest free deals are out the question as dont want to commit to any more non essential payments.

So asked the question to my pension company, could I access one fiftieth of my pot 18 months before my 55th birthday. firm NO.

I'm T2 diabetic and sepsis (twice) and exercise is very important to my disease control. if i didnt cyle a 300 miles a month and looked after myself (better than i used to hence the T2).. I could have severe complications including gangerene and blindness and have to retire through ill health in which case i could access the lot tax free at any age....

wrong isnt it! contacted my MP and she the rules are right!

to the pension company, offered to get doctors note to prove it would help and even a proforma invoice from a bike shop...

oh well in 18 months im accessing a tenth of it and getting a gravel and a DI2 roadie! (permissiion granted from Mrs V although not entierly required its my pension)

Thoughts please....in the words of reddit.... AITA (Am I The Ar*****e)

Whilst gravel bikes are a great purchase - the situation is against you.

Could you just get narrower off-road tyres for the MTB as a cheap stop gap ?

 

[simon the viking]

Whilst gravel bikes are a great purchase - the situation is against you.

Could you just get narrower off-road tyres for the MTB as a cheap stop gap ?

I have got roadish tyres on the mtb still heavy going... but at least i get a proper workout lol... its just having the get up and go to ride it. slight drizzle and riding an mtb for 10 miles... i sometimes reach for the car keys

 

[Ming the Merciless]

the MTB whilst usable is worth a goldfish and a balloon as they say... and is heavy so puts me off in any weather less than perfect... so i dont knacker up 11 speed chain and cassette.

You have a heavy cheap mountain bike with 11 speed chain and cassette?

 

[simon the viking]

You have a heavy cheap mountain bike with 11 speed chain and cassette?

No... sorry possibly not made it clear, I have a Carbon bestie running 105 that I don't ride in the wet.. not because the Carbon will melt but because I don't want destroy the chain and cassette, MTB is 7 speed with double crank so cheaper to repair, I was looking at a Gravel bike running at most Sora so 10 quid chain etc

 

[cougie uk]

No... sorry possibly not made it clear, I have a Carbon bestie running 105 that I don't ride in the wet.. not because the Carbon will melt but because I don't want destroy the chain and cassette, MTB is 7 speed with double crank so cheaper to repair, I was looking at a Gravel bike running at most Sora so 10 quid chain etc

You won't destroy the chain and cassette in the rain. I've had ultegra on my winter bike for years. You need to change the chain when it's stretched. A bit of rain is neither here nor there.

 

[vickster]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255619872530?hash=item3b8421b712:g:elEAAOSwQp1ix~lO
£150 or less

 

[jowwy]

So you have two bikes already, that both can do commuting duties. Yet your not happy that your pensions provider wont allow you to take money out of the pot 18mths early, to buy a 3rd bike……..

nothing like putting all the facts forward in the first post.

 

[a.twiddler]

Other posters have suggested ways to raise money or to compromise with cheaper options in the interim.

My advice to the OP would be to leave your pension alone so that it can mature. It sounds like a private pension, so there are likely extra costs involved in taking out your 10% at 55 (and everything else). You will probably be penalised far more than the 10% anyway by the time it matures. You might be grateful for it in later years.

N + 1 is a wonderful thing but so is self restraint, making do with less costly options as others have advised. I could understand it if you were buying a house, but any bike will eventually be worth a goldfish and a balloon so where will the next one come from? It seems strange that the preservation of your health won't happen if you ride about on a nondescript bike, but miraculously will if you give up a chunk of your future pension to buy a brand new one.

Type 2 Diabetes is no joke, but most sufferers do manage the condition successfully in the long term. The health conditions that the OP mentions are not inevitable, despite the curious sense of entitlement that seems to arise from mentioning their possibility. It's a sad fact that as we get older, many of us will develop ailments and afflictions that we have to learn to manage. We might not like it, but that is how it is.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

7thNo... sorry possibly not made it clear, I have a Carbon bestie running 105 that I don't ride in the wet.. not because the Carbon will melt but because I don't want destroy the chain and cassette, MTB is 7 speed with double crank so cheaper to repair, I was looking at a Gravel bike running at most Sora so 10 quid chain etc

Forgive me, I don't mean to be rude but to me it sounds like you have the answer in your stable ie 'your bestie'.

Surely your health is more important than your carbon steed?

Just use it!

Never have understood the pamper the 'best bike' dry weather thing.

NB the 55 year age limit is mandated by the Gov' and your provider cannot circumvent that.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Or if it's very important that you have your cycle of choice and you know that your 55th birthday's coming in the next year and a bit, then take out a loan and repay the o/s balance with your lump sum immediately you get the cash. That way you minimise interest.

 

[PaulSB]

You've spoken about how important your health is yet rate your best bike above this. It makes no sense to me.

I'm retired and on a limited income but I wouldn't raid my savings for a new bike. When I wanted one in November 2020 I bought it on a credit card, did a balance transfer for the full amount at a cost of £90 over 36 months. In that time my savings have earned far more than £90 and will have risen sufficiently to more than cover the cost of the bike. Did exactly the same with my wife's new car. Expensive loans are a mug's game.

Be a bit more creative. £800 on a balance transfer will cost +/-£24, make the minimum monthly payment and pay of the full amount before the end of the interest free period or move it again.

If you don't plan to retire at 55 accessing your pension could be a mistake and keep in mind pension pots have taken a lot of pain recently. Values aren't great.

 

[bikingdad90]

You won't destroy the chain and cassette in the rain. I've had ultegra on my winter bike for years. You need to change the chain when it's stretched. A bit of rain is neither here nor there.

Unless it’s ridden in the winter and then the chain isn’t cleaned or left after putting away wet. Learnt the hard way doing that once! Chain was so stiff And crusted over with rust it was like a piece of wood.

 

[alicat]

Yes, you are an a***hole to use 2% of your £40000 pension pot on a bike imho. It's meant to top up your state pension to provide a comfortable income in retirement not to provide luxuries when you are still in employment. Sell another asset or upgrade what you've got e.g. slicker tyres or rigid forks.

 

[Slick]

Poor maintenance is another conversation again.