How does it work?

Pension Drawdown plans, capped or flexible, also referred to as Income Drawdown, Income Withdrawal, Pension Withdrawal or Pension Release allow you to take benefits (tax-free cash and an income) from your pension funds without buying an annuity. From April 2010, the minimum age that you are able to take benefits is 55 (previously 50).

From 6 April 2011 existing income drawdown rules were replaced by new rules known as Capped Drawdown and Flexible Drawdown. This replaces both existing rules for Unsecured and Alternatively Secured Pensions (USP and ASP).

Taking benefits from your pension before the normal retirement age of 60 or 65, is sometimes referred to as "unlocking your tax free cash". Some people want to unlock their tax free cash early to use the funds to clear debts or repay a mortgage and the present rules allow you to do this from age 55. You do not have to stop work in order to take your benefits. You must bear in mind though, that by taking the tax-free cash (and any income) early you are reducing the funds available for you when you reire.

From the time of taking benefits (known as crystallising your fund) you can use Pension Drawdown to take both tax-free cash and an income. The fund remaining after taking tax-free cash is still invested as a pension fund, continuing to benefit from a tax efficient environment in the same way that it did prior to taking any benefits. You can take benefits from both Protected and Non-Protected Rights.

Download our comprehensive pension options guide by clicking on the above image.

Financial Advisers

Jonathan Walker
Jonathan is the director and joint owner of the Pension Drawdown Company.

Robert Bolton
Robert is a practising Barrister and is also fully qualified as a Diplomaed Financial Adviser.

Bob Diamond
Bob is a Pension Specialist who has been with the company since its incorporation in 1996. Bob has been a financial adviser since 1989.

Andrew Ross
Andrew is a qualified financial adviser and is undertaking further training to become fully diplomaed.

Roger Easterbrook
Roger is a financial adviser with a background in Executive Search and is close to completing the Diploma.

Click here for more team members.

Market Monitor

Updated: 6th February 2012

Signs of an improvement in the US economy and an absence of bad news from Europe helped global equities stage their strongest weekly rally in several months. A surge in hiring in the US economy drove the Nasdaq index to an 11-year high on Friday, as optimism grew that the jobs market is on a steady path to recovery. Technology stocks gained a further boost as Facebook 's long-awaited IPO filing drove a two-day rally in internet names. The US dollar rose against the euro, the pound and the yen as investors speculated that the positive signal on the US economy would lessen the chance of a further round of quantitative easing.

European stocks closed at their highest in more than six months, while the FTSE 100 closed at its highest since last August. For the second week in a row, government bonds rallied as talks continued over the eurozone debt crisis with private creditors to Greece coming closer to an agreement on the country's debt. However, the week's news wasn't all positive, as Portuguese government bond yields surged to much the same levels that forced Greece to ask the EU for a second bail-out last year.

Important information: This update is intended to be for information purposes only.

Market Monitor by