Pension Drawdown

Any advice that you can get is likely to be helpful, and there are a range of topics that you might be seeking that advice on. One in particular that you might need help with is the pension, which is clearly an important part of being retired. In this article, we’ll take a look at something known as a pension drawdown – what it is, how it can help you, and what to do about it.

What Is Pension Drawdown?

Pension drawdown is basically just a way of taking money out of your pension to live on when you are retired. That is obviously important if you are going to need cash in the long-term, so it is something that you are going to want to know about as much as possible. To be eligible to utilise a pension drawdown, you must be aged 55 or over and have a defined contribution pension in order to be able to access the money within it in this way.

With pension drawdown, your pension savings remain invested upon retirement and you take money out of your main pension pot for the drawdown payments. Because the money is invested still, there is, of course, a chance that the value will fall as well as rise. But you can see higher returns, and watch your pot grow over time, so it can be really worth it.

How Does It Work?

If you are to make the most of this, you need to make sure that you know what the rules are and how it all works. That in itself is something that can be quite complex at the best of times, so it is going to be important to make sure you get qualified pension advice.

As of April in 2015, all pension drawdowns are known as flexi-access drawdowns. Under these new rules, you can take up to 25% of your pension savings tax-free upfront. Plus, there are no limits on how much of the remainder you might choose to withdraw.

That means that you can take it all out in one go straight away if you like, or set up regular payments and receive it that way. You could even take a series of lump-sum payments and have a mixture of the two. As you can see, this is a highly flexible way of taking payments in retirement, so it’s a handy possibility to have.

Is Pension Drawdown Right For You?

Of course, as with anything of this nature, you need to make sure that it is the right option for you before you opt for it. There are many things to consider here, and you will need to consider drawdown alongside other types of pensions which you might also be thinking about using in retirement.

But it could be that drawdown is the right choice for you if you are looking for your money to continue to be invested, you are looking for flexibility above all else, you want to be able to change the amounts that you receive and when, or you are looking to manage your tax liability.

That being said, it might not be the way to go if you want to be able to have a guaranteed income every year, you are worried that you might run out of money, you don’t want the risk of investment at this particular stage of life, or you want to avoid high charges.

It is worth considering all of this before you make your decision, so you can be certain you are doing the right thing for your retirement.

Alternatives

There are many alternatives to pension drawdown, including annuities and one-off lump sums. These are what you will want to consider alongside drawdown when you are making your decision, and ultimately if you need help you should make sure that you seek out the advice of a professional financial adviser.

At CS Retirement Solutions, we will be able to help you to make the right decision. Our qualified financial advisers are trusted to give you personal, tailored advice on the different pension options open to you so you can look forward to your retirement.

The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and should not be relied upon.