Once you reach the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) of 55 (rising to 57 from 2028), you can withdraw all of your pension, take a series of smaller lump-sum payments, or receive regular monthly or annual payments. There’s no limit to how many withdrawals you can make and you can start, stop, or change the amount when you want with no additional charge. There may be different tax implications depending on the drawdown strategy and amount you choose to withdraw. The income you get from your pension will depend on the performance of the investments in your pension pot, so your regular income isn't guaranteed.

It can take up to two months depending on whether you choose to take regular income or a tax-free cash lump sum. Learn more about our drawdown process.

Before starting drawdown, you can get tax relief on contributions up to £60,000 per year (or 100% of your salary if it’s lower) – this is your ‘annual allowance’. For high earners with an adjusted income over £260,000 a year, tax relief on contributions is reduced due to the ‘tapered annual allowance’ – find out more on the UK government website. Once you start accessing income from your pension, the amount you can keep paying into it (and get tax relief on) usually reduces to £10,000 a year – this is known as your money purchase annual allowance (MPAA).