www.iva.co.uk

I am currently 18 months in on a joint IVA with my wife. It will ultimately be six years long in total assuming there will be no equity release at the end. I will be 55 next month and as such could access 25% of my pension as a lump sum. By coincidence this amount is roughly equal to that still to be paid in the IVA. My question is what are the advantages to completing early? My understanding is that your credit rating remains shot until the end of the six years and you remain on the insolvency register. Is it worth considering or should we sit tight?

Hi. Yes, your credit rating will remain shot ( but you don't want credit anyway ). But, your lives will be your own again. Your income will be yours to do with as you wish and, if you win the lottery or Great Aunt Matilda leaves you her millions, it won't have to be paid to your IP.

On the other side, you will be slightly reducing your pension for the rest of your life to counter a few years IVA payments, so it might cost you more in the long run. Always take professional advice when tinkering with pension pots.

If you do go ahead and draw down a portion of your pension for a F&F you will need to get the agreement in place BEFORE you draw the money down --- otherwise it will be payable into the IVA as a windfall and will be lost to you.

You gain control over your finances again and can relax about any windfalls that might have had to be paid over had the IVA still been in place.

You can also then deal with your assets (property?) if you want to earlier.