How to claim or access your Aegon pension

To access your Aegon pension, check your plan and your age, then choose a cash lump sum, drawdown or an annuity bought elsewhere, and use Aegon's forms.

Pension Wise is a free, impartial government service from MoneyHelper that offers guidance on your retirement options, and Aegon's Retiready page names it for anyone about to access a pot. Weighing up which Aegon option suits you? An FCA-authorised adviser can study your Aegon pot next to your other savings during a free phone call; your contact details belong in the form on this page.

When can I take my Aegon pension?

Aegon's Retiready page says you "can usually only access your pension pot once you turn age 55 (increasing to age 57 on 6 April 2028)". For the Aegon SIPP, the key features document puts the start at 55 as well, with 57 in 2028 given as the expected new minimum, and adds that you "may be able to take benefits from your account earlier than this if you're in ill health or have a protected low pension age that continues to apply". Whether your pot has a protected age is a question for your plan's paperwork; protected pension ages explains the idea.

The law that sets these ages is explained in the guide to your pension at 55, with the change coming in 2028 in the minimum age of 57. For ill health, see ill-health retirement ages.

How do I claim my Aegon pension: forms and online account?

Start by logging in. Aegon's login page asks for a unique number, which "could be called customer number, wrapper number, plan number, account number or policy number", and sends you to the right area for Aegon Retirement Choices, Retiready, Aegon and Scottish Equitable Pension and Bonds, the Aegon Platform or TargetPlan. Which of those you hold is explained in what an Aegon pension is.

For the forms, Aegon says: "Please visit Your Retirement Planner to get the forms you'll need." Aegon and Scottish Equitable Pension and Bonds plans have a forms library on Aegon's site that lists separate instructions for taking drawdown, an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum, a partial lump sum, a small pots lump sum and a lump sum allowances form. Pick the one that matches what you want to do. How long a payment takes after Aegon has your paperwork differs by plan, so ask for the likely wait when the adviser phones you through the enquiry form.

Can I take my Aegon pension as a cash lump sum?

Often, if you meet the conditions. The Aegon SIPP key features document describes an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS) that "can be taken as a full lump sum where you can take your full pension pot as a cash lump sum", or as a partial lump sum, which lets you take money out a bit at a time. It also describes a small-pot lump sum for up to three pots of £10,000 or less each. With each of these, "normally 25% of the amount you take is tax free, with the rest being taxed at your marginal rate of income tax".

There is no way back afterwards: for a UFPLS, Aegon says "there are no cancellation rights". Taking a large sum in one tax year can push you into a higher tax band, so see how a UFPLS works and small pot rules first.

How does drawdown work on an Aegon pension?

Aegon's SIPP document says that with flexi-access drawdown you take "some of your pension pot as tax-free cash, this is normally up to 25%, then use the balance to provide a flexible income", and that "the more you take out, the greater the risk that your savings will run out". On the SIPP, regular payments start from £25 a payment and can be monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly, paid on the 9th, 18th or 27th; Aegon says the money takes about three more business days to reach your bank. A single payment can be anything from £25 to your full product value, provided there is enough cash in the drawdown part of the plan.

The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. How drawdown compares with other routes is in pension drawdown.

Can I buy an annuity from Aegon?

Not on the SIPP: Aegon says "the Aegon Platform doesn't offer an annuity product" and that you can buy an annuity "with the provider of your choice" using your Aegon SIPP savings, adding that providers differ in the rates and types of annuity they offer. The Aegon and Scottish Equitable Pension and Bonds forms library has an open market option instruction form, for when you want to use pension funds to buy an annuity and the annuity provider cannot deal directly with your request. Nothing obliges you to take the pension with Aegon at all. See pension annuities for how they work.

What tax and allowances apply when I take money out?

Aegon's SIPP document states that tax-free cash comes off your remaining lump sum allowance and the lump sum and death benefit allowance, and lump sums beyond either allowance are taxed at your marginal rate. Drawdown income is taxed at that rate too. Aegon also lists the most common ways of triggering the money purchase annual allowance as taking a UFPLS or starting to take income from flexi-access drawdown, which cuts how much you can pay into pensions afterwards; the MPAA has the detail. Wider tax questions are in the tax-free lump sum.

More on drawing money from Aegon

Do I have to take my pension with Aegon?

No. Aegon's own answer is "No, you're free to shop around to get the most suitable product for your needs". Moving the money elsewhere is covered in how to transfer an Aegon pension.

Can I take just part of my Aegon pension?

Yes, on the SIPP. Aegon says you can take your benefits all at once or as and when you need them over a period, and a partial UFPLS leaves the rest invested.

Can I cancel after starting drawdown?

On the Aegon SIPP, the first move into drawdown comes with 30 days from the date you receive your benefit crystallisation event statement. Tax-free cash taken as part of the move cannot be returned, and if you cancel the rest you then have 6 months to decide how to take it, or that cash becomes an unauthorised payment for tax purposes.

How do I switch funds in my Aegon pension?

On the SIPP you can change investments as often as you want, which Aegon calls switching. Workplace TargetPlan members log in to their online account, then choose View and manage and Switch funds; other plans differ, so check your own login area.

Who gets what is left in my Aegon pension when I die?

On the SIPP you name the people you would like to benefit on Aegon's Death benefit nomination form. Aegon warns that "the nominations you make aren’t binding on us": it takes your wishes into account, but the final decision on who is paid, and how much, rests with Aegon.

Settled on an Aegon route? Your phone number in the enquiry form is all it takes; an FCA-authorised adviser rings, free, and works through the figures for your own pot.