Skip to main content
Legal news

Lib Dem plan to use pensions for housing

Jonathan Winston Jonathan Winston
1 min read

The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has suggested that plans could be adopted which would see parents and grandparents use part of their pension to help their children get onto the housing ladder.

The plans, revealed at the party’s annual conference in Brighton, would see those people who have built up pension funds worth around £40,000 being able to borrow against the lump sum payment to underwrite the mortgage of their children who may not be in a position to afford to buy their first home.

As pension schemes usually allow members to take about a quarter of the value in a lump sum when they retire, the Lib Dem proposal would mean that a parent with a £40,000 pension pot would be able to guarantee £10,000 as a deposit on their child’s first home.

The Lib Dem plans received a lukewarm response from the pensions industry, claiming that it could actually harm the retirement incomes of some families. Otto Thoresen, Director General of the Association of British Insurers, said that pensions were designed for the purpose of maturing into a decent retirement income and any scheme using them as a guarantee must ensure it does not leave the saver worse off as a result.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/9561010/Grandp...

Client feedback

I am very pleased with the service I received from Winstons, this is the second time I have dealt with them for conveyancing services and on both occasions Leasa was incredibly thorough and reassured me every step of the way. When other parties failed to deliver, Leasa ensured things were chased up and delivered/received with accuracy. I would highly recommend and will be sure to use Winston's again for any future property purchases
Charis
Would highly recommend Winston's.Both Leasa and Julie were extremely professional and we recieved regular email and direct call updates.In the middle of an extremely challenging chain, they went above and beyond and became intermediary's liasing with everyone else in order to get the conveyancing completed on time.Thanks again for a great service.Regards
Richard
My conveyancer Samantha and her associate Michelle kept me informed of the progress of my sale throughout the transaction. It was of benefit to me that the Winston office was local with plenty of parking. I would recommend them for any conveyancing
Ms H
Winston’s acted for us with our house sale and onward purchase. They have been excellent from start to finish. Leasa is extremely quick to respond to emails and more than happy to answer any questions. The online system is very efficient and helps keep you up to date with progress of the sale/purchase. Leasa and her team made the whole process so much less stressful than it could’ve been and we can’t thank them enough. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.
Lucy
Teresa and Judith assisted with my recent divorce and i cannot rate them highly enough, i was talked through every aspect and everything was explained in full and i was kept fully updated and imformed of everything that i needed to do and when it was required for. Their patience when i was working away and understanding was especially appreciated.Once that was all complete Amanda and Samantha and the convayensing team sorted the transfer of the house and the paperwork associated with that.I would highly recommend them and thier company for any legal issues you have and would use thier services again without hesitation.
Richard J
Special praise for Emily Spencer ,who is more than efficient , very thorough in her work and I am sure , a very good member of the Winstons team ! Well done her ( plus Jeremy re our registration with the Land Registry .!)
Stuart
A helpful and thorough service that meant I felt confident that the house sale would be handled well.
Helen
Amazing service!
Anonymous
Contact Jonathan