The only other thing that I forgot to mention, is being 55 and older, you are able to draw 25% of your private pension and ALL 25% is tax free, this is something I did at 55 and one month
This paid off an enormous chunk of my Mortgage
But you really need to take financial advice on the above, as its not for everyone, and thankfully from the age of my age of 21 ish, my Father (accountant) was on my back, to ensure I stuck a good percentage of my wages into one, hence being able to take the 25%
Obviously, the older we get, reducing debts is a priority, well to the more sensible of us
Had I not done this at 55, it could of meant taking redundancy when I did, could off trickier, more complicated
Now on the age thing of being over 55 and basically without a permanent paid employment, I can assure you, it was quite a nerve wracking experience, and for the first few months, I did question my own decisions on leaving VA, but with over 14 months elapsed, It was the best decision EVER
Good luck with any decision you make, and hope it has the correct ending
steve
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at