VinRouge
Believe it or not, you can opt out of AFPS completely (in favour of a private pension arrangements - if you wish) and get no benefits. You can also have AFPS
and a 'Private' Pension (in fact, as many Personal/SIPP/SSAS pensions as you like). AFPS is still a good scheme so you'd probably be mad. AFPS 15 will benefit some people quite dramatically although you'll have to wait longer to get the better benefits and the consequences of the scheme cost cap being breached remain a worry. You wouldn't get paid more in lieu, but it'd be interesting to know if you can
temporarily opt out and then back in though.
A couple of years ago, The Treasury floated the idea of allowing early access to pension savings. Why
not have the choice of the first 4-5 years of individual contributions paid into liquid savings instead of AFPS, whereby a deposit can be accrued and then paid on trustee approval for something like a house deposit? Retirement isn't what it used to be, and neither should it be funded in a dogmatic and prescriptive way - although for practically everyone, intelligently maximising the impact of occupational and/or alternate pension benefits will form the core of retirement planning.
edit:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/call...on_savings.PDF