What retirement options do I have with my UK pension?
The retirement options available to you under your existing UK pension(s) will depend upon the type of UK pension you currently have (for example, whether it is a defined benefit or defined contribution pension) and what retirement options the scheme offers you.
In most cases, when you turn 55 (or 57 from 2028), you have several options to access your UK workplace or personal pension. However, as UK pensions’ legislation has changed over time, the retirement options available under different UK pensions can vary widely with some offering flexibilities and others being quite restrictive.
Options can include:
- Doing nothing
- 100% lump sum payment
- Partial lump sum payments
- Annuity
- Flexi-access drawdown
- Drawing your defined benefit pension
- Taking the CETV of your defined benefit pension and transferring it into a personal pension to access other retirement income options
- Choosing a combination of the above to suit your specific retirement goals
How and when you start to access your UK pension(s) will depend on your retirement goals. For this reason, we feel it is important to understand your retirement options before starting to draw your UK pension.