Answers · UK 2025/26
Can I draw my pension at 55?
You can usually access a private or workplace defined-contribution pension from age 55, taking up to 25% as a tax-free lump sum. The Normal Minimum Pension Age rises to 57 from 6 April 2028; if you were born after 5 April 1971 you will have to wait. The State Pension still starts at 66.
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The Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) currently sits at 55 for defined-contribution pots (SIPP, workplace DC, personal pension). From 6 April 2028 it jumps to 57, so anyone born after 6 April 1971 cannot access pots until then unless they had a "protected pension age" written into their scheme rules before 4 November 2021. At 55 you can: take the whole pot (25% tax-free, the rest taxed as income); take chunks (uncrystallised funds pension lump sums – UFPLS – each 25%/75% split); move into flexi-access drawdown; or buy an annuity. Worked example: a £200,000 pot at 55 yields £50,000 tax-free plus £150,000 taxable. Withdrawing £150,000 in one year would push you into 45% tax on much of it — staged drawdown across multiple tax years (e.g. £12,570 a year inside Personal Allowance) is more efficient. Taking taxable income triggers the £10,000 Money Purchase Annual Allowance — restricting future contributions. Defined-benefit pensions have their own scheme normal retirement age, often 60 or 65 — early access usually incurs an actuarial reduction of 4-6% per year. Final-salary transfers above £30,000 require regulated advice.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.