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Small Pot Lump Sum option

This online form is for existing Royal London customers who would like to take their pension plan as a cash lump sum using the small pot option. You should only use this form if you have had a Retirement Options pack from us or discussed your options with Royal London recently.

Important information

The decision you're making is very important.

Before we continue with your request, we need to make sure that you've considered the impact of taking your retirement savings under the small pot option and what this could mean for the rest of your savings.

If you have multiple pension plans and you’ve built up retirement savings of £10,000 or less under a plan, you can take up to three such plans as cash lump sums. We’ll pay 25% of your cash lump sum tax-free and the remainder will be subject to income tax at your marginal rate. Before you can take your retirement savings you’ll need to make sure:

  • you’re aged 55 or over;
  • the amount you want to take does not exceed £10,000 and you’ve not already received more than two small pot payments before.

By receiving this payment there’ll be no other benefits available to you under this plan.

Your options

It's important that you discuss your options with your financial adviser before you make a decision. If you'd like to find out more information about your options, you can refer to your Retirement options pack. If you'd like to request another Retirement options pack, you can request one from us or your financial adviser at any time.

Find out more about the risks involved.

Completing this form

Please complete all the information below and click 'Submit' to complete your request.

We'll check the information you provide against our customer records to verify your identity and process your Small Pot request.

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Small Pot Option form

* Indicates a required field

1. Your details

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 (opens in new window) or listen on 0800 085 8352.

Personal information
Title *
You will find this on your statement or policy documents
You will find this on your National Insurance card, benefit letter, payslip or P60
Please use the format DD/MM/YYYY
Email is the quickest and simplest way for us to communicate with you, it also helps us support the environment by reducing paper. We will use the email address you provide here to update our records and to send confirmation of the request.
Address

2. Payment details

Please fill in this section with your bank details. The account must be a UK current account in your name or jointly in your name.

Must be 6 digits long
Must be between 6 and 8 digits long

3. Verifying your identity

In order to satisfy the UK Money Laundering Regulations, we need to verify your identity before we can process your application.

We'll do this electronically, using your name, address and date of birth. We may run several electronic checks depending on the request, including checking your details against the electoral register and records held by fraud prevention parties. 

We may need to request additional information from you if we aren’t able to verify your identity this way.

Please confirm that you’re happy for us to carry out this check *

4. Declaration

I confirm that I wish to take my retirement savings under the small pot option and that I have met all of the required conditions detailed previously.

I declare that the answers I’ve given are correct and complete to the best of my knowledge. If further tax becomes payable because the information I’ve provided above is proven to be incorrect then I understand that I’ll be wholly and personally liable for the tax charge due and any resultant penalty as may be imposed by HM Revenue & Customs. 

* Indicates a required field

Pension savings risk warnings

Please read the information below carefully. You should only continue if you understand and accept the risks involved.

You should think carefully about taking money from your pension savings and the impact it will have on what you end up with.

The money you’ve saved over the course of your life will need to last for the whole of your retirement. Spending too much at the start could mean you or any dependants could run out of money.

We’ll process your payment under what’s known as small pot rules which means that 25% will be tax free and the remainder will be taxed at 20%.

If you’re planning to re-invest the money you take from your pension, you should be clear on whether you'll be charged for doing so. You should look at any charges closely and see how they compare with what you'd be paying to keep your money where it is.

It's also a good idea to weigh up the potential returns you could get on your new investment against the risks you'd need to take to achieve them.

Remember, the value of investments can fall as well as rise - meaning you could get back less than you started with.

The amount of income you take from your savings could affect your entitlement to means-tested state benefits.

This means if your income or any money you have in the bank rises above a certain level, it could affect your eligibility to certain things like housing benefits and council tax reductions.

When you’re able to access your pension savings, there will be criminals who are eager to get their hands on your money.

So if you’re planning to take cash out of your pension to give to someone or to invest somewhere else, you need to tread carefully. You could lose everything if things turn out to be fraudulent.

If you’ve been advised on what to do with your pension savings, you should always check that person is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. You can do this by visiting register.fca.org.uk.

Most people who have lost their pension savings in a scam were first contacted by a cold call from a scammer. A cold call is when someone you have not previously agreed to accept calls from phones you to talk about transferring or taking your pension savings.

Unsolicited calls from people or companies promoting pension transfers or cashing in your plan are illegal. You could lose your pensions savings if you transfer or take your benefits after being contacted by these cold callers.

For more information on how to spot pension scams from cold callers, please visit the FCA's ScamSmart webpage.

If you’re in debt, either now or in the future, the individuals or companies you owe money to can make a claim for your pension savings when you take a payment.

While the money remains in the protective environment of your plan, it can’t be touched by anyone else.

Contact us

If you need help or have questions about your Small Pot request, please contact our customer service team on 0345 602 1028 or PP.Claims@Royallondon.com.

Pension Wise from MoneyHelper

Pension Wise from MoneyHelper is a free and impartial retirement planning service, introduced by the government to help you understand your options. Find out more at the Pension Wise website.