Pension Plan & ISA - UK IBD

Hi,

I am a continental student who has secured a FT offer and has some questions regarding to how to save/invest money. I have read some of the older threads but I am not sure about the following:

- Does ISA also protects dividend gains from being taxed? Once you leave the UK are you still elegible to keep those savings as tax-free (if I am being taxed in another country)

- Pension Plan: I understand that if you do personal contributions this deducts taxes paid - as if you were receiving a lower rage (up to 40k), and that this money is supposed to be taken after you are 55 years old. 

        - What would happen if I decide to use that money earlier to pay my stuff? Is it all taxed at 55%?

        - If I decide to take all of it as a lump sum / one off payment, how would it be taxed? I really dont find useful information about this

        - Would you advice to max pension after maxing the ISA every year?

Thanks!

12 Comments
 
  • Yes, dividend gains under ISA do not impact your dividend allowance and are thus tax-free. You also don’t pay capital gains tax when selling shares from an ISA.

  • Contributing to a pension reduces your salary-before-tax. Simply put, less of your salary is taxed at the top bracket.

  • You can withdraw 25% of your pension once you hit 55, tax-free as a lump sum. Withdrawing more, or withdrawing earlier will make you liable to income tax.

  • Max out your pension contributions to the amount that your employer will match. i.e. if they will match up to 10%, put 10% in. You’re literally getting an instant 100% return on investment that way, with that money to appreciate as the pension matures.

 

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