Contacting Fidelity to access your pension savings (2024)

Withdrawing money from your pension is one of life’s great events. You might have been saving for 20, 30 or 40 years, so taking it out should be a rewarding experience, and we’ll be delighted to help you understand the options available through your plan. To make your call go as smoothly as possible we’ve put together some things for you to think about first.

Important information: Remember, you can’t normally withdraw money from your pension until you are 55.

If you want to withdraw any of the money in your pension, you’ll need to speak to us. Before you do, there are a number of things you should think about carefully. If you are unsure what the right choice is for you, or what the tax implications of each option might be, we recommend that you speak to an authorised financial adviser. We can explain the options offered by your plan, but we can’t give you advice. Free and impartial guidance on your options is available from the government’s Pension Wise service – go to pensionwise.gov.uk or call 0800 011 3797.

It may help if you take a look at some of our tools. They can help you work out how much income you might get from your savings. And you should ask yourself the following questions:

Have you considered all your income options?

How much are you going to withdraw and will you have enough money to live on for the rest of your life?

How will you invest any money that is left in your pension?

Have you thought about taking personalised advice on what is the right option for you?

Calling us

Once you have decided to make a withdrawal, you should call us on 0800 3 68 68 73 between 8am and 6pm on a UK business day. One of our associates will guide you through the process over the phone. Please allow up to an hour for the initial phone call as there is a lot we need to cover. We appreciate that this may seem a long time, but we find that members tend to prefer doing it this way than completing a long, complicated form.

Taking your tax-free cash
Take a lump sum
Buy an annuity

If you just take tax-free cash, some of your savings will be moved into a Pension Drawdown Account. During the phone call you’ll be asked what you want to do with this money, and our associate will explain your options. These will be:

Choosing one of the four Investment Pathways, if they are available through your plan.
Keeping your current investments (make sure you’re familiar with what these are).
Choosing new investments.

The decision you make regarding how the remainder of your savings is invested is really important and you should make sure you have considered this carefully and considered whether you need to take advice from an authorised financial adviser.

You always have the option of setting up a guaranteed income with money from your Pension Drawdown Account.

If you take a lump sum that is 25% tax-free cash and 75% taxable income, any money that is left in your pension will stay in the same investments as before. You’ll have the same options for switching this money into different funds.

You also have the option of buying an annuity with any money that is left in your pension.

If you are interested in setting up a guranteed income, you can talk to us about it when you call. We'll go through your options and refer you to our specialist team who can help you get the best quote.

Once we have all the details of the withdrawal you're planning, we'll send you details confirmingeverything we've talked about on the phone. The letter will contain a pension withdrawal declaration which you will need to read and sign to confirm that you want to go ahead with the withdrawal.

We may need to ask you for identification and bank verification documents before we can go ahead with your payment.

How long will your withdrawal take?

We will start working on your withdrawal as soon as we receive your signed declaration. If you are withdrawing a lump sum, it should take around seven working days for the money to arrive in your bank account. We usually need 18 working days to set up regular income payments. This means that if we receive your form less than 18 working days before a scheduled payment date, you may receive your first payment the following month. We’ll write to you confirming when your first payment will be.

Call us

Once you have decided to make a withdrawal, you should call us on 0800 3 68 68 73 between 8am and 6pm on a UK business day. One of our associates will guide you through the process over the phone.

0800 3 68 68 73

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This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment, you are responsible for deciding whether an investment is suitable for you. In doing so, please remember that past performance is not a guide to future performance, the performance of funds is not guaranteed and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circ*mstances and tax rules may change in the future. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser.

This website is issued by FIL Life Insurance Limited. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England and Wales No. 3406905, Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP. Fidelity, Fidelity International, the Fidelity International logo and the F symbol are trademarks of FIL Limited.