To start AJ Bell SIPP drawdown, log in, choose ‘Manage my Pension’ and take up to 25% tax free; the rest stays invested for income when you want it.
This guide draws on AJ Bell's SIPP key features (print code AJBYI/SIPP/G/20261019) and its withdrawals, charges and help pages, all read on 26 October 2026; AJ Bell can change them. Pension Wise offers free, impartial government guidance on your options. An FCA-authorised adviser can consider your full position on a free call-back, which comes from the form on this page, no obligation.
How does drawdown work in an AJ Bell SIPP?
AJ Bell's key features set out three ways to take your pension, and the first is drawdown: take 25% of your fund tax free and use the other 75% "to provide taxable income through ‘Flexi-access drawdown’". The same page says: "Your funds remain invested. You don’t have to take income, but you can make unlimited withdrawals at any time, until your fund is exhausted."
AJ Bell's withdrawals page also describes converting in stages: each time you convert part of the SIPP, you can withdraw up to 25% of that part tax free and the rest goes into a drawdown fund, while the unconverted part stays invested. Nothing forces you to start: "You don’t need to take any lump sums or pension payments from your SIPP at any time."
Drawdown income is "not fixed and isn’t guaranteed for life", AJ Bell warns, and investment values can fall as well as rise, so you may get back less than you put in. For the general picture, see our guide to pension drawdown.
AJ Bell SIPP drawdown options
The key features list these three, and say you can use more than one:
- Drawdown, as above, with the option to buy an annuity later.
- Tax-free cash, with the other 75% used to buy a taxable annuity from an insurance company (annuity or drawdown).
- Regular pension lump sums, with 25% tax free and 75% taxed, taken only from funds you have not previously accessed (uncrystallised funds pension lump sums; how they compare with drawdown).
To access the SIPP for the first time, AJ Bell's help page says you take either a lump sum, where 25% is tax free and 75% goes into drawdown, or a lump sum from funds not yet accessed. If your drawdown began before 6 April 2015 under the older capped rules, AJ Bell has a conversion form for moving to flexi-access (capped against flexi-access). A Ready-made pension is different: AJ Bell says you cannot withdraw directly from one and must transfer to a pension that allows access (SIPP against Ready-made pension).
AJ Bell SIPP drawdown process and timescales
AJ Bell's instruction is to log in and select ‘Manage my Pension’. For the tax-free cash you tell AJ Bell the amount; it pays "five to 10 working days after we've received all the information we need", which includes an application, evidence of age and verified bank details, and you need enough cash in the account. Then:
- A drawdown pot is created, and you are offered AJ Bell's Investment Pathways, which is optional.
- You request income in the same ‘Manage my Pension’ area.
| What you ask for | What AJ Bell says |
|---|---|
| Tax-free lump sum or pension lump sum | Paid five to 10 working days after AJ Bell has everything it needs |
| Regular income | Goes out on the 10th of the month (next working day if that is a weekend); should reach your account within three working days |
| One-off income | Received within five working days; enough cleared cash is needed |
Three cautions from AJ Bell. Once a tax-free lump sum is paid "you can’t change your mind", so be sure before you ask. And its security checks on each cash withdrawal could delay money reaching you, as can proceeds of a recent sale that have not yet settled. General steps: how to set up drawdown.
Charges when you draw from an AJ Bell SIPP
AJ Bell's help page lists "Accessing your pension by flexi-access drawdown or pension lump sums" at no charge, and its charges page says it does not charge a withdrawal fee once you put your pension into drawdown. It lists an annuity purchase at £150 plus VAT, and payment of death benefits or a pension split on divorce on a time and cost basis, with a £250 minimum plus VAT.
The ordinary running charges carry on. AJ Bell's charges page gives an account charge of 0.25% on shares (up to £10 a month) and, for funds, 0.25% on the first £250,000 and 0.10% on the next £250,000. Dealing is £1.50 for funds and £5.00 for shares each time you buy or sell, and each fund has its own ongoing charge. The key features add that you must keep enough cash in the SIPP to cover charges. See pension charges.
Minimum age and amount for AJ Bell SIPP drawdown
Access starts at 55, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028, whether or not you still work. AJ Bell's key features say earlier access may be possible in serious ill health, or if you transferred in from a pension with a lower pension age and the transfer meets certain HMRC requirements. When you access, you must keep at least £100 in the SIPP, cash and investments together, or it cannot stay open. See taking a pension from 55 and minimum drawdown amounts.
AJ Bell says that if you accessed another pension before 6 April 2024, it may need to do a one-off transitional calculation when you first access the SIPP. Once you flexibly access a pension, a lower limit on paying in applies: the money purchase annual allowance, which HMRC's pension schemes rates page sets at £10,000 for 2026 to 2027. AJ Bell's withdrawals page says you trigger it when you first take drawdown income or a pension lump sum.
Tax on AJ Bell SIPP withdrawals
GOV.UK says: "You can usually take up to 25% of the amount built up in any pension as a tax-free lump sum. The most you can take is £268,275." On a lump sum above your allowances, "you’ll need to pay Income Tax on the extra amount". On income, it says that "Most pension providers deduct Income Tax using Pay As You Earn (PAYE)" and that tax is normally deducted before you are paid. AJ Bell's key features say it deducts the tax due before paying, and its withdrawals page says the first drawdown payment is likely to use an emergency tax code. See taking the tax-free lump sum.
What you pay depends on other income and the sums you take; the adviser who rings after you complete the form here can explain it free.
More on AJ Bell drawdown
Which form starts AJ Bell drawdown?
AJ Bell's help page starts a normal request online through ‘Manage my Pension’, and the form it names there is for converting capped drawdown. For the full process, the key features point to AJ Bell's free guide ‘SIPP – a guide to accessing your pension’.
Can an AJ Bell tool estimate my income?
AJ Bell's retirement page offers a pension calculator, described as a tool that "calculates how much your pension could be worth when you retire". For how much to take, see how much to take from drawdown.
Who can receive an AJ Bell SIPP after death?
The key features say it may be paid to a beneficiary as a lump sum or as a pension through drawdown or an annuity; AJ Bell Management Limited, as Scheme Administrator, has discretion, and you can nominate beneficiaries. More in pension death benefits.
Still weighing the options? The form asks for a few contact details, and an adviser will ring to talk them through, free of charge.