Your retirement options

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Regulated Financial Advice and Pensions Guidance

Royal London can't give financial advice and we strongly recommend that you take financial advice and/or the free pension guidance before you access your pension savings.

Regulated financial advice

You can take regulated financial advice at your own cost from a financial adviser. If you don't have a financial adviser, you can find one in your area.

Pensions guidance

You can take pension guidance from Pension Wise. Pension Wise is a free and impartial government service from Moneyhelper that aims to help you make an informed decision as to what to do with your pension savings, including the different options available to you. It’s delivered at an appointment with an independent pension specialist.

If you've previously received Pension Wise guidance, you may benefit from guidance again if your personal circumstances or the value of your pension savings have changed significantly. The different options described in the guidance may have different significance and relevance to you than previously.

If you'd like us to book a Pension Wise appointment for you, then please give us a call on 0345 050 2020. Alternatively you can book your own appointment with Pension Wise on 0800 100 166 or go online and visit Moneyhelper.

The decision you're making is an extremely important one. Once you've decided what to do with your pension savings and the cancellation period has expired, you won't normally be able to change your mind.

Where can I find more information?

You'll find more detail on your chosen option and what you need to think about in our guide, Risks and Rewards.

You can take the whole amount as a single lump sum. 25% of your pension pot can usually be taken tax-free, while the rest will be taxable. You'll need to plan how you will provide an income for the rest of your retirement. You should also be aware that a large lump sum would likely be taxed at an emergency tax rate - though you may be able to claim some of this back through your local tax office.

Under pension rules there are limits on the amount of tax free cash you can access from your pension plan. This is known as lump sum allowance. The lump sum allowance (LSA) is set at £268,275 and payments above this are subject to tax at your marginal rate of income tax. 

Understanding the lump sum allowance rules is important because if you provide incorrect or incomplete information you may become liable to additional tax charges. Before choosing your option it is important you check any previous LSA you may have used with Royal London or other pension providers. For more information visit https://www.royallondon.com/pensionallowances 

You'll get no further income from this plan. If you’re on any benefits or pension credits, they can be affected when you claim your pension.

We’ll have to deduct some tax from you. You’re entitled to the first 25% tax free and the remaining 75% will be taxed at emergency rate and will be added to any other income you get in the current tax year. We’ll send you a P45 because you may be entitled to a tax rebate or in some circumstances people have to pay more tax, but this depends on your personal circumstances and your total income over the tax year.

You'll get no further income from this plan. If you’re on any benefits or pension credits, they can be affected when you claim your pension.

We’ll have to deduct some tax from you. You’re entitled to the first 25% tax free and the remaining 75% will be taxed at emergency rate and will be added to any other income you get in the current tax year. We’ll send you a P45 because you may be entitled to a tax rebate or in some circumstances people have to pay more tax, but this depends on your personal circumstances and your total income over the tax year.

If the value of your plan is under £10,000, you can take it as a Small Lump Sum. But remember, you can normally only take 3 of these in your lifetime, so you'll need to keep this in mind if you have any other small pensions.

You'll get no further income from this plan. If you’re on any benefits or pension credits, they can be affected when you claim your pension.

We’ll have to deduct some tax from you. You’re entitled to the first 25% tax free and the remaining 75% is taxable under the Basic Rate (20%). We’ll send you a P45 because you may be entitled to a tax rebate or in some circumstances people have to pay more tax, but this depends on what your personal circumstances are and your total income is over the tax year.

You'll get no further income from this plan. If you’re on any benefits or pension credits, they can be affected when you claim your pension.

We’ll have to deduct some tax from you. You’re entitled to the first 25% tax free and the remaining 75% will be taxed at emergency rate and will be added to any other income you get in the current tax year. We’ll send you a P45 because you may be entitled to a tax rebate or in some circumstances people have to pay more tax, but this depends on your personal circumstances and your total income over the tax year.

If your fund is less than £10,000 and as you have confirmed that you have not taken 3 pensions as a lump sum before, where the value was under £10,000, we will treat your payment as a Small Pot.

We have a guidance service available where guiders can signpost the independent organisations and charities which can provide free expert help and support. Customers who have used this service have felt that it has had a positive emotional impact, providing a better understanding of the support available. This is a call that usually takes around 20 - 30 minutes and covers areas including claiming benefits, managing debt, budgeting and tax. If you’d like an appointment with one of our guiders, please give us a call on 0345 050 2020 to make an appointment with our Guiders at a time that’s convenient to you.

We want to help you make a confident and informed decision by highlighting some key risks for customers choosing a one off lump sum payment . These could impact on your financial wellbeing and retirement.

If you're expecting the money you take from your pension pot to help provide an income in retirement, you need to consider how long the money needs to last for. 

We have a guidance service available where guiders can signpost the independent organisations and charities which can provide free expert help and support. Customers who have used this service have felt that it has had a positive emotional impact, providing a better understanding of the support available. This is a call that usually takes around 20 - 30 minutes and covers areas including claiming benefits, managing debt, budgeting and tax. If you’d like an appointment with one of our guiders, please give us a call on 0345 050 2020 to make an appointment with our Guiders at a time that’s convenient to you.

The first 25% of your lump sum is normally tax free. The remainder is taxed as income in that tax year. Depending on your total taxable income, this may mean that you may pay a higher rate of tax than you would normally pay or if you take your benefit as an income.

If you receive any means tested state benefits, they may be reduced or lost when any money you receive from your pension savings is taken into account. 

You may be charged for investing your money. You need to consider those charges and see how they compare with the charges if you left your money where it is. You also need to consider the potential return you can get on your investment and the risks associated with getting that return.

Pension scams can be sophisticated, take many forms and often appear to be a legitimate investment opportunity. If you're thinking of taking money out of your plan to give to someone or to invest somewhere else, we’d recommend you take a few minutes to have a look around. It might just give you some extra peace of mind and it could also help you avoid losing all your hard earned savings to a fraudster. You can get useful information on current and known scams and how to avoid them at FCA's ScamSmart site.  

Creditors may be able to make a claim for money you receive from your pension savings. 

We have a guidance service available where guiders can signpost the independent organisations and charities which can provide free expert help and support. Customers who have used this service have felt that it has had a positive emotional impact, providing a better understanding of the support available. This is a call that usually takes around 20 - 30 minutes and covers areas including claiming benefits, managing debt, budgeting and tax. If you’d like an appointment with one of our guiders, please give us a call on 0345 050 2020 to make an appointment with our Guiders at a time that’s convenient to you.

The effect of inflation means that, over time, the amount you can buy with the same amount of money goes down. If you're intending to use your lump sum to provide a retirement income, you need to consider the impact that inflation will have on it in the future. 

Have you considered that your circumstances might change in the future and that you might want some flexibility in how you access your pension savings? 

Once you have made your choice, you cannot normally change your mind, even if your circumstances change. 

If contributions of more than £10,000 a year are made to any Defined Contribution pension arrangements, including those made by you or your employer, you will normally incur a tax charge (not applicable to Small Pots).

It’s important that you understand the implications of the decision you’re making. If you’re not sure you understand the risks involved, have another read through our risk warnings, or give us a call on 0345 050 2020.

We are now going to collect the information we need to make your one off lump sum payment.

Personal information collected on this form will be used to administer your request. To understand the detail of how we use your information you can read the privacy policy or listen on 0800 085 8352.

Personal information

We need to complete some identity checks for you to comply with money laundering regulations, we will do this electronically. If you don't want us to complete any electronic checks, please call us on 0345 605 0050.

Please provide details of the bank account to which payment should be made.

I confirm that:

• I am the policyholder 
• I confirm that the details I have included on this form are true and complete 
• I understand there are limits on the amount of tax free cash you can access from your pension plan, known as lump sum allowance (LSA) and payments above this are subject to tax at my marginal rate of income tax.  
• I have considered any previous pension benefits I have taken with Royal London or other pension providers which could reduce my available lump sum allowance 
• I haven’t previously applied for any protections or enhancements that could impact the amount of lump sum allowance I am entitled to. 
• I understand the details relating to the lump sum allowance and confirm that this payment won’t result in me exceeding this allowance of £268,275.  

If you’re struggling to complete this form online, or don't agree with any of the declaration above, please give us a call on 0345 050 2020

I confirm that:

• I am the legal policyholder. 
• I wish to take all of my retirement savings from my policy as a cash lump sum under the 'small pot' rules.  
• I can confirm that I meet the conditions that to allow me to take a cash lump sum payment from my policy under the 'small pot’ rules.  
• Including this policy I will not have received more than three pension pots paid as a small pot lump sum. 
• If, within 30 days of receiving the cash lump sum payment I change my mind, I will immediately pay back to Royal London the cash lump sum payment I have received from my policy.  
• If it’s subsequently determined that I am not eligible for some or all the pension benefits I receive, due to the information I’ve given being incomplete or incorrect, I’ll be responsible for any tax charges that arise on the payments.  
• I confirm that the details I have included on this form are true and complete.  

If you’re struggling to complete this form online, or don't agree with any of the declaration above, please give us a call on 0345 050 2020.