Normal minimum pension age (NMPA)

As you’ll reach age 55 before 6 April 2028, you’ll still be able to take your pension benefits at any time from your 55^th birthday, up to 5 April 2028.

After 6 April 2028, you’ll only be able to continue to take benefits from the funds you’ve already started to access. You may not be able to take any additional benefits until you reach the new minimum pension age of 57. 

Here is an example to illustrate this:

Sarah turns 55 in March 2028.

She decides to move £50,000 into a drawdown account and starts taking some payments before 6 April 2028.

This £50,000 stays accessible to her after 6 April 2028.

She leaves another £100,000 in her pension savings account and doesn’t touch it.

She may have to wait until she turns 57 to access this £100,000.

As soon as the government issues firm guidelines on how these changes will work, we’ll update this information.

Withdrawals from a pension will not normally be possible before the normal minimum pension age. Though generally this is the earliest you can take your savings; in certain circumstances, like serious ill health, you may be able to take them earlier. Contact your pension provider for more information.

The change to the normal minimum pension age from 6 April 2028 is a regulatory change affecting most pension schemes and providers. Some public service schemes - such as workplace pension schemes offered to firefighters, police and armed forces - won't be affected by this increase.

The normal minimum pension age applies to Junior SIPPs (which will later become SIPPs when the child turns 18) unless they have a Protected Pension Age.

If the government decides to increase the normal minimum pension age again after 2028, all pension providers will be informed. The government will also provide information on gov.uk.

When you transfer a pension to us, we'll check whether any of those pension savings have a protected pension age. If they do, you can access them from age 55 rather than the normal minimum pension age of 57 once the change takes effect from 6 April 2028.

In most cases we'll create a separate account to hold the protected portion of your pension. This will keep it clearly separated from any pension savings you can access at 57.

If your transferring provider gives us this information at the point of transfer, we'll set up both accounts straight away. If they provide it later, we'll make the update at that point.

Please note that this currently only applies to cash transfers. For re registration transfers (or ‘in specie’ transfers of investments), your investments will initially be held in your ‘Minimum Retirement Age 57’ account. We’ll review these transfers in the future to determine whether any of the investments carry a protected pension age of 55. If they do, we’ll create a separate account for them at that point.

Yes, and this is an important distinction.

If you transfer your full pension pot from your existing provider to Fidelity in one go, any protected pension age attached to that pot will carry across to us. This means we'll be able to reflect your right to access those savings at age 55.

If you do a partial transfer, which means you move some of your pension across and leave the rest with your existing provider, the protection doesn’t carry across. The portion transferred to Fidelity will not keep the protected pension age of 55.

If you're not sure which option is right for you, we'd recommend speaking to an authorised financial adviser before transferring.

If you previously transferred a pension to us, we might need to separate your pension savings into amounts that can be accessed at age 55 and age 57. If this is the case, we’ll write to you before making any changes to your account. 

If it applies, we'll create a separate account to hold the protected portion of your pension. This will keep it clearly separated from any pension savings you can access at 57.

It depends on your pension savings and whether any of them have a protected pension age.

If all your pension savings can be accessed at age 55, everything will stay in one account labelled 'Minimum Retirement Age 55'.

If all your pension savings are accessible at age 57, everything will stay in one account labelled 'Minimum Retirement Age 57'.

If your pension savings include both protected and non-protected portions meaning some can be accessed at 55 and the rest at 57, then your pension will be held in two separate accounts. One will be labelled 'Minimum Retirement Age 55' and one 'Minimum Retirement Age 57'. This makes it clear which portion of your pension you can access, and when.

When you log in online, you'll be able to see each of your accounts. Each will have its own label – 'Minimum Retirement Age 55' or 'Minimum Retirement Age 57' – and its own account number.

Your quarterly statements and valuations will show both accounts separately, so you can always see the value held in each.

Because the accounts are held separately, any investment instructions such as buying, selling, or switching funds will need to be given for each account individually.

No, any new contributions or lump sum payments will go into your ‘Minimum Retirement Age 57’ account and you won’t be able to top up your ‘Minimum Retirement Age 55’ account. This applies even if your ‘minimum Retirement Age 57’ account currently has a zero balance.

If your pension is held in a single account, either ‘Minimum Retirement Age 55’ or ‘Minimum Retirement Age 57’, you can continue to top up that account as normal.