There are three types of pension in the UK: state, workplace and personal. The state pension is a regular payment from the government that anyone in the UK can claim, as long as they have a qualifying National Insurance record. If you’re employed and classed as an eligible employee, you'll likely have been auto-enrolled into your employer’s workplace pension scheme, where both you and your employer can make contributions. With a Personal Pension – like ours – you can set it up yourself, transfer in previous workplace pensions and make contributions as and when you want to. 

How and when you withdraw your pension depends on your retirement goals and whether it’s a defined contribution pension, a defined benefit pension, or a state pension.  You can start claiming your state pension once you reach state pension age. You can calculate your state pension age on the UK government website. You'll have access to your workplace and Personal Pension pots once you reach the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) at 55 – rising to 57 from 2028 – but you can continue to work for longer if you want to, even while withdrawing from your pension. Read our support page to find out more about pension withdrawals.

Everyone under 75 receives a 20% tax relief on pension contributions up to 100% of their income, or up to the government-set annual allowance, whichever is lower. Higher or additional rate taxpayers can claim more through their annual tax return, or by notifying HMRC and completing a tax review form. You can contribute up to £60,000 tax-free each tax year, or your annual earnings, whichever is lower – this is your annual allowance. Tax relief and employer contributions count towards your annual allowance, so don't forget to factor this in. Those who don't meet the threshold to pay income tax, can still receive tax relief on up to £3,600 of pension contributions in a tax year. Read our support page to find out more about tax relief.

Pension drawdown – also known as income drawdown – allows you to withdraw income or lump sums from your pension, while keeping the rest invested. You can start drawing down from the age of 55 – this is rising to 57 from 2028. You can take 25% tax-free up to the lump sum allowance of £268,275 and the remainder is subject to income tax.

Your pension assets are held by State Street Corporation and Barclays Bank. This means your money is always kept separate from ours – you can find all the details in our terms and conditions. We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to investors if an investment firm is unable to meet its financial obligations. In respect of investment business, an eligible claimant is entitled to claim up to the current FSCS limit for investments. For more information about the scheme (including the current limits, amounts covered and eligibility to claim) please contact us, visit the FSCS website, see our FAQ page and/or contact the FSCS on 020 7741 4100 or 0800 678 1100. Please note only compensation related queries should be directed to the FSCS and losses resulting from poor investment performance are not covered by the FSCS.    

We invest and manage your Personal Pension, so you’ll only ever talk to us about your account and your investments. The operator and administrator is Embark Services Limited and the trustee is Embark Trustees Limited.