Advice and Pension Wise guidance for an Aegon pension

Aegon pension advice: Aegon's own helpline gives guidance, not regulated advice, and free Pension Wise guidance is usually open from age 50.

Aegon points customers who want a personal recommendation elsewhere, and it also sends them to free government guidance. Want an FCA-authorised adviser to look at how your Aegon pot sits beside your other savings? Ask for a no-cost phone conversation through this page's form, Aegon paperwork at your elbow.

Does Aegon give regulated pension advice?

Not through its customer teams. Aegon's page for its helpline, Aegon Assist, says: "We can't give financial advice, but we can explain your choices and answer your questions." For a recommendation based on your own circumstances it tells you to speak to a financial adviser.

Aegon's advice page names one firm it works alongside, Origen, but Aegon's other pages also send customers to MoneyHelper's guide to choosing an adviser. Finding a regulated pension adviser shows how to check a firm's FCA entry.

Aegon says Origen is authorised and regulated by the FCA, that it is owned by Aegon UK plc but operates independently, and that it pays no remuneration to Aegon UK plc companies for Aegon customers who use it. Aegon's page describes a free 30-minute first appointment and suggests Origen for people able to invest a lump sum of at least £20,000 or at least £400 a month. Its retirement advice covers annuities, drawdown and the options within a defined benefit pension, and Aegon says the service Origen provides ranges from advice on a limited, selected range of investments to a broader, holistic one.

What can Aegon's customer service tell you?

Aegon Assist can explain your options, help with bringing pensions together and answer questions about your plan. It cannot tell you which option to pick. Where the question is simply which kind of Aegon policy you hold, Aegon says to look on your covering letter under policy class, or the policy schedule or booklet, and that if you are not sure it will confirm it on 03456 100 010 (call charges will vary).

That policy type matters more than it sounds. Aegon's own wording says the answer to whether your plan has a guaranteed annuity rate comes from contacting Aegon or your financial adviser. For a plan opened through an adviser, such as the Aegon SIPP, the Aegon Platform key information document says Aegon always recommends using an adviser when you make decisions about it. Neither is a substitute for a personal recommendation, and if a question depends on your own health, family or other income, Aegon's staff are not able to answer it as advice.

Pension Wise for an Aegon pension: the free routes through MoneyHelper

Pension Wise is the government-backed service run through MoneyHelper. Aegon describes it as "a free and impartial government service offering guidance about your retirement options", adding: "This isn't a financial advice service." MoneyHelper's booking page says that if you have a UK-based defined contribution pension, you can usually choose how and when to take your money, and that an appointment explains your options.

• Online: available if you are aged 50 to 74, with no fixed time to start.
• By phone: an appointment lasts up to 60 minutes; MoneyHelper lists 0800 138 3944 for bookings.
• Under 50: possible if you are taking your pension early because of ill-health, have inherited someone else's pension, or your scheme lets you take it before age 55.

MoneyHelper says it can also help people who are not eligible for Pension Wise, through its guides, tools and free phone, webchat or email guidance. What happens in an appointment is covered in how long a Pension Wise appointment lasts, and free pension help in the UK lists the other free routes.

When regulated advice matters on an Aegon pension

Four situations on an Aegon plan turn on more than the general options.

Taking money. Aegon's guaranteed-annuity page says "we strongly recommend you get guidance or advice to help with your decision", and its page for existing Retiready Pension holders says that before you access your pension pot you should get financial advice, which may carry a charge. The routes themselves are in how to access an Aegon pension.

Transfers. Aegon's guide to transfers warns that a transfer "may not be the best option for you" because you may lose features, protections, guarantees or other benefits. Moving a pot away is covered in how to transfer an Aegon pension.

Guaranteed annuity options. Some Aegon policies carry a guaranteed annuity option, which Aegon says is sometimes called a safeguarded benefit; Scottish Equitable plc is the company behind the guarantee. Aegon says you lose it on a transfer out to another firm or into an Aegon platform product, on cashing in the entire fund as a small pot or a serious ill-health lump sum, or on taking an open market option. Taking tax-free cash gives up the guarantee on that slice of the fund alone, and an early annuity before 60 can also end it in some circumstances. Whether your policy has one is a question Aegon answers from your policy records, and annuities with Aegon explains how the rate is honoured.

The £30,000 rule. Under SI 2015/742, regulation 5(1), no advice check is needed if the transfer value of safeguarded benefits "is £30,000 or less on the valuation date". Above it, advice is part of the process. The FCA says it and The Pensions Regulator "believe it's in most people's best interests to keep their DB pension." When transfer advice is required has the detail.

Paying an adviser: from your Aegon pot or separately?

On the Aegon SIPP, the key information document says: "Adviser charges – if you have an adviser, you'll agree a fee for the advice or service they provide. If you want to, you can pay your adviser from your Aegon Platform account." Changing adviser may alter your annual and adviser charges, and if Aegon is told you no longer have an adviser, the charges change. Aegon calls the document accurate as at April 2026, so check it against the current version before relying on it.

Aegon Assist's page says advice is likely to carry a charge, and that an adviser will explain any costs before you decide to use their services. Typical fees are in how much pension advice costs. For a workplace Aegon pension, whether an adviser fee can come from the pot depends on the scheme; an FCA-authorised adviser can clarify how your own scheme handles it on a free call, which you request through the enquiry form.

Origen, Pension Wise and adviser fees: reader questions

Is Origen the same company as Aegon?

No. Aegon says Origen is owned by Aegon UK plc but operates independently, and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Using it is optional.

Can I have Pension Wise if I am 49?

Usually not. MoneyHelper lists three exceptions under 50: early ill-health retirement, an inherited pension, or a scheme that lets you take benefits before 55. Otherwise its general guidance is still open to you.

Do I need an adviser to have an Aegon SIPP?

Aegon says an adviser can open an Aegon SIPP on your behalf, and its key information document notes that certain product options are only available through an adviser. The same document is written for customers who receive advice, use an adviser who does not give advice, or no longer have an adviser.

Is Aegon Assist free?

Aegon describes it as free guidance. It can explain choices but not give advice.

Still unsure what suits your Aegon pot? The enquiry form arranges a no-charge ring-back; your Aegon policy papers are worth having beside you when the FCA-authorised adviser rings.