Yes, normally 55 (sometimes earlier of scheme rules allow it). There may be an actuarial reduction of around 8-10% to reflect that you'd be drawing it for longer.
Ask if you can make a payment of some of any redundancy payment into the pension scheme.
You should be able to take a tax free lump sum of 25% of the value
If you're not planning on working again tough you could consider signing on to Job Seekers' Allowance (contribution based) for a few months before you start drawing your pension if you can live off JSA + any redundancy pay/savings for a while
You should be abale to request a quote from your pension scheme based on a retirement date you specify. They should be able to provide a quote within 12 weeks
You may retire any time you wish. Whether you'll have income will depend on what private pension you've paid into, and the rules about when you can trigger it. Or what savings you have. I retired early when IMO my employer 'pulled a fast one'. Had to live on savings for just over a year.
I was pensioned off at the age of forty (2003) on health grounds. I got my lump sum and an enhanced occupational pension from my employer under the final years method.
I think most schemes are very unlikely to consider ill healh retirement unless the health situation is so bad as to make any kind of work untenable- but given nactel's age I think financially there will be little difference between ill health pension and earned pension anyway assuming nactel has been in the scheme for a long time
If you claim Contributory JSA [JSA(C)]and you receive an Occupational Pension (Occ Pen) of more than £85 a week 50% of the excess will be deducted from your JSA entitlement.
Any savings you have will not affect entitlement to JSA(C).