Show notes
In this UK personal finance Q&A, Pete Matthew and Roger Weeks answer listener questions on offshore investment bonds, GIA tax, pensions, retirement drawdown and building financial stability in your twenties. They explain how UK tax can apply to dividends, capital gains, offshore bond withdrawals, top slicing relief and pension crystallisation, with practical context for retirement planning and long-term investing. The episode also covers the normal minimum pension age rules, phased pension access, tax-free cash and how couples often divide responsibility for managing household finances. Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/QA57 01:04 Question 1 Hi Pete & Roger, I'm hooked on your Podcasts; they are invaluable and strangely fun. Though I don't recall hearing about Offshore Investments Bonds being discussed, this is a worry to me because I have one with Prudential which my financial advisor arranged for me. (My original premium invested £254,640 on 11th March 2027.) I would appreciate to hear your general views on Offshore Investments Bonds, a general overview with positives and negatives. Also, I'm thinking of letting my Pension Advisor go, and going alone at the beginning of April 2026, because I don't like the idea of paying for Pension Advisor costs and I don't plan to make any withdrawals until 2037 when I'm 67. Prudential have said that it is possible to go alone if I agree to a disclaimer, because this Bond is sold as an advised only product. Though I'm confident in my ability to manage this Bond because I'm a member of Meaningful Academy and I'm already retired at 56 and living off my Pru Drawdown Pension, therefore I have plenty of time to learn. (At 67 my Pension Pot will have virtually run dry.) My plan at 67 at my State Pension age is to take my Bond's 5% tax deferred allowance monthly, plus make annual 'Segment Encashments' to refill my 'Cash Buffer' that covers my monthly income shortfalls, and if (& when) I need to stop taking monthly withdrawals from the Bond during smoothing shocks; suspensions or UPA's etc. Also, when it's time to encash segments, I'd like to use 'Top Slicing Relief' to prevent being taxed as if I've earned that whole amount in a single year. I would also appreciate your general views on this plan too, I do realise this is not advice. I'm hoping this question is not too specific and that others may find useful. All the best. Jon 11:24 Question 2 Hi Pete and Roger, Thanks for everything you do, it is truly life changing. I currently live abroad and am a few years off state pension age. When I get to state pension age I am thinking of returning to the UK. When/if I do return, I will have approximately £800k in a UK GIA. (I can't have an ISA as not currently a UK tax resident). My £800k GIA will be invested in about 10 various ETF's. I plan to live off the proceeds of this GIA, alongside my state pension. Let's assume the state pension takes up my single person tax allowance, so that is effectively tax free. What I am not sure of is how my 'income' from the GIA is taxed. Let's say I take 5% pa (close to the 4% rule of thumb) which is £40k pa. Although this will be my 'income' I don't believe it would be treated as income for tax purposes. It could also be subject to CGT as it's an investment, but it isn't all profit/gains, so I can't see how it would be taxed as that either. Please can you explain to me how the GIA would be taxed so that I can plan for returning to the UK, and understand whether it is financially viable. Also am I missing anything obvious? Hope that isn't too long a question to be answered on the podcast. Many thanks, Neil Thompson, Long time listener 19:11 Question 3 Hello, I always love listening to the podcast while I'm working and find it a great way to pass time when I'm bored. When I listen I never really hear many young people such as myself contact the show an ask for advice so I thought I would. I've recently just turned 20, I live at home and don't pay any board as I work away 5 days a week. I take home around 2500-2700£ a month after taxes. At the moment I have 6000£ in a stocks and shares ISA (I put 500£ a month in) and 2000£ in LISA. My only debt is my car finance which costs me 250£. What is the best advice you can give me to help me become more financially stable in the future? Thanks a lot for reading and appreciate any advice you can offer. Thanks, Sam. 24:47 Question 4 Dear Pete & Rog, Really enjoying your podcast, (and your BOD spin-off Pete). I have a question about accessing a DC pension/SIPP, specifically the age one can access benefits. I understand this is 55, if you reach the age of 55 before Apr '28, after which the age rises to 57. I turn 55 in late January 2028, and am planning to retire then. As the rules stand I would be able to access my workplace DC pension and my own SIPP at this time, since I turn 55 prior the 6 April 2028 (before minimum age increases to 57). I am (was) planning to gradually drawdown my DC pensions, taking small monthly amounts to bridge the gap between 55 and 65. At which point have 2 deferred, index linked, DB pensions, along with the state pension a couple of years after that. Recently I saw a finance video on You-Tube which said that this is not correct. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=756h-kRxEug The video led me to believe the following…. Having already turned 55, before April 28, I assumed I would be free to access any amount from my DC pension, at any point after Jan 28, upto and including late Jan 30 (when I turn 57). Since I turn 55 late Jan '28 I will be able to access my DC pension from my 55th birthday, and until 6 April '28 for about 10wks! I will also be able to access my DC pension after I turn 57, late Jan '30. But in the period between April '28 and Jan '30 I would not be allowed to drawdown my DC pension nor my own SIPP, irrespective of whether I had started to access it already, or not. This seems ridiculous, is it true? Thanks so much for your thoughts, and keep up the good work! Phil GovUK: Pensions Newsletter 178 (February 2026) 33:40 Question 5 Dear Pete and Roger, and Nick... As a prolific personal finance podcast listener, I was surprised to only discover your podcast in December 2025. Since then I've been binge-listening to your listener Q&A series and have just finished the very last one, so I'm now fully up to speed and I absolutely love the series — keep up the awesome work. I do have a few questions, but as you don't like super long questions, I'll spread my three very different questions across different weeks. My first one is this: as I listened through the episodes, I was surprised by the number of questions coming from men, because I had always assumed that women tend to manage the money in most relationships. I know you said 85% of your YouTube audience is men. I'm wondering, just out of interest from your lived experience at Jacksons: in this self-selecting group of people who are interested in money management, what roles do men typically play in managing finances, and what roles do women tend to play? In my own household, I manage 100% of the finances — everything from utilities, contracts and payments to the investment portfolio. Basically anything to do with money my husband hates, so I end up doing it. Fortunately I love it, so it works pretty well for us. And just to sign off, as an indication of what a presence you've established in our household: a week ago I scratched my cornea and the doctor told me I needed to rest my eyes. My husband caught me scrolling on my phone and said, "Heather, the doctor said you need to rest your eyes. Put on your two stepdads and stop looking at your phone!" I didn't need to ask who my two stepdads were. I duly put on an episode of Meaningful Money and rested my eyes. As an African woman, the wisdom of additional parents is always welcome. From that moment on, you have been known as "the two stepdads" in our house. Heather KW 40:43 Question 6 Hi Pete and Roger, Firstly, I love the show - it has been transformative for me and my family! I'm looking ahead to retiring in a few years and have a drawdown question for you. I anticipate that I will have a £600,000 pension pot and want to check whether my understanding of the withdrawal strategy is correct. Here's what I'm hoping to do: Take £30,000 of taxable income in each of the first two years before the state pension kicks in. In year 1, I also want to spend £100,000 to buy a lifetime annuity. Critically, I want to preserve all of my tax free cash at this point - so the £30k income would be taxable (and I assume that the annuity purchase is not-taxable as the income from it is). Then, at the start of Year 2, I want to take the 25% tax-free cash (say £150,000) in one go and use it to move house. After that, I would draw £20,000 a year of taxable income from the remaining pot forever (not relevant to the question, but I thought it would make the question make more sense). My understanding is that this can be done by partially crystallising only the amounts needed in Year 1 and leaving the rest of the pot uncrystallised so that the full 25% tax‑free cash is available for use in year 2. I also understand that this is not UFPLS - just regular crystallisation. A bonus question if you have time - I assume that the income drawn in year 1 will generate 25% tax free cash - can I just leave this in my drawdown account to be used in year 2 (to contribute towards the full tax free amount) or I have to take it out? Could you confirm whether my understanding here is correct, and whether most pension providers (for example Standard Life or Vanguard) allow this kind of phased crystallisation and delayed tax‑free cash? Sorry, I find crystallisation very confusing! Thanks very much - absolute legends the both of you (and the teams behind you)! James (your number 1 fanboy).