Taking your pension as a number of lump sums

Why take several lump sums?

Leaving your pension savings in the pot and taking lump sums whenever you choose gives you financial flexibility when you need it. For example, you might want to access what you need in an emergency, but otherwise leave the rest of your pot for later life.

If there’s anything left in the pot when you die, it should go to whoever you’ve nominated as the beneficiary. If that happens before you turn 75, the money can be passed on tax free.

You can always decide later to do something else with your savings.

Transferring your pot to another provider

It’s possible that your current pension provider won’t offer you the option of accessing your savings in several lump sums, so you might want to transfer to one who can. Even if your current provider offers this option, others may be able to offer a better deal. It’s worth comparing what different providers can offer. There’s an excellent guide to shopping around on MoneyHelper.

When you’re going through this process, remember to protect yourself from pension scams. Scammers are always trying to find new ways to attack people’s pension savings, and they can send communications that look believable. Don’t fall for ‘unique investment opportunities’ or be pressured into making instant decisions – no regulated provider will ever try to rush you.

The Pensions Regulator offers great advice on how to avoid scams. You can find out more from our Pension Scams page.
 

Before you make a decision

Check that transferring your pot won’t lose you any special benefits like guaranteed annuity rates. You should check with your provider whether you have any and how it works.
 

Take your pension savings as a number of lump sums: next steps

If you’re ready to take your pension savings as a number of lump sums, our contact centre will be able to help you.

It’s important to remember that we can’t process any requests to access your pension savings until we’ve sent you a retirement pack. If you haven’t yet received one, you can request a retirement pack here .

Things to consider

The money in your pot will eventually run out. So if you want to have enough to fund your whole retirement, you’ll need to budget carefully. Remember that the more you take out, the less money is left to provide a future income.

Whatever you leave in your pension pot stays invested. Your provider will offer you different investment choices with different benefits and risks, and you pick the ones you want. Since the value of investments can go down as well as up, your pension could continue growing, but it could lose value too.

Providers usually charge a fee for running pension pots like this. We would recommend that you take advice on whether it’s the right option for you and, if so, what level of income you should take.

We’d always suggest talking to an expert about your pension options. Our guide to pension help and advice shows you various ways to find one.
 

Take your pension savings as a number of lump sums: next steps

If you’re ready to take your pension savings as a number of lump sums, our contact centre will be able to help you.

It’s important to remember that we can’t process any requests to access your pension savings until we’ve sent you a retirement pack. If you haven’t yet received a pack, you can request one here.