A combination of tax-free and taxable coin from your alimony (also known as "take some or all your pension as cash")

With this pick, each time you take money from your alimony pot, usually 25% volition be taxation-free and the remainder of that withdrawal will be bailiwick to income tax. This means the amount yous take will ever be a combination of taxation-gratis and a taxable amount. You tin can take money out this manner as unmarried cash amounts and/or a regular income.

Benefits

  • You lot can make up one's mind how and when to take your money, in one get or in unmarried amounts.
  • If you take your coin in single amounts, you can command how much tax y'all pay so you can decide the about tax efficient manner to take your coin.
  • If yous have your money in single amounts, you lot tin dip into your alimony pot as and when you demand to.
  • Any money left in your pension stays invested – benefitting from potential investment growth. You tin can choose funds that lucifer the amount of risk you're comfortable with. And you can usually switch funds, though there may be a charge for this.
  • If you make up one's mind to take your coin in single amounts, you can also get out what's left in your pot to your loved ones when yous dice.
  • If you take your money in one go, you volition become a lump sum correct away, and you can do whatever you like with it.

Considerations

  • In one case any cash has been paid, y'all tin can't change your heed.
  • As 75% of the money you take could be taxed, yous could besides pay a higher charge per unit of tax on this and any other income.
  • If you choose to take your coin out in stages, you lot can't take the full 25% tax-costless lump sum at the start.
  • Yous'll need to keep an middle on any money you lot keep invested and review the funds you lot invest in. The value of your investment tin go downward as well as up so you might get back less than you lot put in.
  • If you take more money from the plan than the corporeality your investment has grown by, the value of your investment will be less that you've put in.
  • You could run out of money earlier you dice. If you leave money invested and information technology doesn't perform well, or yous take out too much over fourth dimension you and your loved ones could end upwards running out of money. You'll need to manage that advisedly.

Do you accept a smaller alimony pot?

In that location are slightly different rules for what are called "modest pots". You lot may accept a small pot if its value is less than £10,000. It'south possible to take a minor pot equally a cash lump sum. The first 25% is paid tax-free. On the remaining 75% you lot will take to pay tax at xx%, and you will have to claim or pay an difference in revenue enhancement to HMRC. This will apply to all payments fabricated under these rules.

For personal pensions you tin use the pocket-size pots rules up to iii times. Y'all have no limit on the number of times y'all can take pocket-sized pots from company pensions. This is subject to the rules on the scheme. If yous take cash lump sums under pocket-size pots, this will not affect your Money Buy Annual Assart or 'MPAA'.

Some examples of using this pick

Case 1 - Sally

Lady accessing mobile

Emerge is 60 and withal works part-time. She's not old enough to receive her land alimony, but would like to access her pension pot to fund some urgent house repairs and a holiday with her husband to celebrate her 60th birthday. They have decided that £8,500 volition cover their costs.

She has £50,000 in her pension pot. There are a number of ways to access the cash in her pension but Sally decides she wants to take the money as a cash lump sum for the holiday;

Sally takes £x,000 as a greenbacks lump sum

25% of this is tax free; £2,500

The remaining 75%  (£7,500) is taxed at the basic rate of 20%; £one,500

Total received by Sally; £8,500

Sally has already used her annual personal allowance and no other income has been taken into consideration. She leaves the remaining £twoscore,000 invested in her pension pot. She'll need to retrieve almost whatsoever other income she may receive in that tax year and the affect this may have on the taxation she may need to pay in the time to come.

Scott is 56 and a college rate tax payer. Scott has £50,000 in one of his pension pots and he would similar to greenbacks information technology in to pay for some urgent repairs to his business firm. He'due south able to exercise so as he has another pension pot to fund his retirement.

Scott takes 25% tax-free cash every bit a lump sum; £12,500

The remaining 75% (£37,500) is subject field to tax.

Estimated tax payable: £15,000 which leaves £22,500.

Total received by Scott; £12,500 + £22,500 =£35,000

Because he'southward taking information technology all in i go, he has to pay income tax on it. And as a higher charge per unit tax payer and still earning Scott will be taxed at 40% (or 41% if he was a Scottish Charge per unit tax payer). Scott will also need to think about whatsoever other income he may receive in that tax twelvemonth and the impact on the revenue enhancement he may have to pay in the future.

Example two - Scott

Access Cash option

Working assumptions:

These examples are based on an individuals living in England or Wales with a Personal Allowance of £12,750 for 2022/23. No other income is taken into consideration. When added to other income for the year, the amount of taxation to pay could be at a higher charge per unit.

The actual amount you receive and the amount of tax y'all may demand to pay volition depend on the option y'all choose and your private circumstances.

The growth rates applied in these examples practise not include inflation.

If you're unsure what is the right option for yous and your circumstances, we always recommend you lot speak to a fiscal adviser.

The above illustrations are not existent life examples or recommendations.

Calculators and tools to assist you plan

Pension pot calculator

Our calculator will help you empathise how the options could impact your retirement income. You tin can use it to understand what your alimony pots can provide. It volition also show you the buying power of your money by taking into account the effects of inflation.

Please read all of our assumptions to understand how we've worked out the amounts.

The results are not a recommendation and not fiscal communication.

Retirement Income Planner

This planner shows y'all how taking different amounts of coin from your pot can impact how long your coin might final. You can input different amounts and see the impact information technology has.

Income tax estimator

This estimator will provide an approximate of how much Income Revenue enhancement you may pay, depending on how much money you lot accept from your alimony. You can input dissimilar amounts in the box that asks for your gross salary and see roughly how much revenue enhancement you might take to pay.

Emergency Tax Tool

This tool is to show you how much Emergency Tax you might take to pay on withdrawals from your pension pot.

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