Taking money out of a Quilter pension

A Quilter pension withdrawal from a Collective Retirement Account is an instruction, usually online, for tax-free cash, drawdown income or a lump sum.

Quilter's own terms set out how the money comes out, and this page follows the October 2026 edition for accounts on Charge Basis 3 (print code QIP18567/143). A CRA opened before 1 January 2013 may be on Charge Basis 1 or 2, which have separate terms. Pension Wise, a free MoneyHelper service, explains the options before you decide. A Quilter pot has its own terms, which an FCA-authorised adviser can apply to your position at no cost; to request that, use the form on this page.

What can come out of a Quilter Collective Retirement Account, and how do you ask?

The terms list three kinds of retirement benefit: a tax-free lump sum, income withdrawals, or buying an annuity, which Quilter does not provide itself. They can be taken from all of the account, part of it, or lump-sum and transfer investments only, leaving the rest invested. Quilter says you may take benefits "at any time after you reach the normal minimum pension age", which its key features put at normally 55, rising to 57 in 2028.

You instruct through Quilter's online Customer Centre, or your financial adviser does so through Quilter's adviser site; paper is needed only where Quilter asks. Quilter may ask for proof of identity or other information first, and pays only into a UK bank account in your name.

The general rules on age, tax and cashing in a whole pot are in pension withdrawal, with the wider picture in pension drawdown and your options at retirement.

How does the tax-free cash work on a Quilter pension?

The maximum tax-free lump sum is "usually 25% of the amount being crystallised", and Quilter ties it to having enough Lump Sum Allowance when you ask. It can be one payment or several smaller ones, and a lump sum paid cannot be cancelled or returned.

A one-off tax-free payment comes from cash in the uncrystallised part of the account first. If that is not enough, you choose whether units are sold proportionally or from named funds. Quilter says it will pay within 10 working days after receiving everything it needs. Paying in a transfer or lump sum and wanting tax-free cash at once is a separate route, the immediate maximum tax-free lump sum, and you must say so when you pay in: otherwise Quilter invests the full amount, charges apply to all of it, and the tax-free sum may come out lower than expected. More is in taking the tax-free lump sum.

Taking cash changes what is left to invest, and values can fall as well as rise, so you may get back less than you paid in. Choosing between tax-free cash and income is a decision a free call with an adviser can help you weigh, and the form here is how to ask.

What drawdown and lump-sum options does a Quilter pension offer?

The terms describe flexi-access drawdown, with "no maximum annual withdrawal limit", plus capped drawdown for people who opted for it before 6 April 2015. Payments can be one-off, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly, and you can start, change or stop them at any time, with instructions in at least 10 working days before the next payment date. Regular payments go by BACS on a day you choose from the 1st to the 28th. Quilter deducts income tax from income withdrawals where HMRC requires it.

A third route is tax-efficient regular income: Quilter regularly crystallises part of the account, pays 25% of each amount crystallised tax-free, and pays the rest as taxable income or moves some or all of it to a crystallised sub account for later. The terms treat this as flexi-access drawdown, and it stops once your Lump Sum Allowance runs out. The key features say you may be able to take up to £10,000 of untouched savings from each of three arrangements in the account (£30,000 in all) as small pots payments, 25% of each tax-free. MoneyHelper says a pot of £10,000 or less taken in one go usually will not trigger the MPAA.

The key features warn that when you receive your first flexi-access income payment, you become subject to the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, limiting further pension contributions to £10,000 a year. See the money purchase annual allowance and flexi-access drawdown against UFPLS. HMRC's Pensions Tax Manual (PTM056520) makes a first uncrystallised funds pension lump sum a trigger too; whether a one-off taxable payment from your Quilter account would be one is a question your call-back adviser can settle at no charge. How UFPLS works covers the rules.

What does a Quilter pension withdrawal cost?

The CRA terms say that if you ask for a withdrawal by CHAPS, "we will deduct a CHAPS charge of £23.00 from your account in addition to your withdrawal". CHAPS is not available for regular income payments, and the terms say no CHAPS charge applies to a tax-free lump sum paid under the immediate maximum route or an ad hoc one-off tax-free sum. If a withdrawal means selling exchange traded investments, Quilter's Dealing Charge and associated costs apply.

Closing the account in full brings end-of-account deductions, such as charges accrued but not yet taken. Those, the Product Charge, fund charges and adviser fees are covered in Quilter pension charges, and fund results in Quilter pension performance.

Charge Basis 1 and 2 accounts have their own terms, so do not assume this £23.00 applies to them.

Where are the Quilter withdrawal form, nomination form and cash interest rate?

For withdrawals, the terms send instructions online, as above, with paper only when Quilter needs it. A nomination is different. The key features say you can download an Expression of wish from the document library at quilter.com and send it in, or your financial adviser can submit your wishes online. Quilter decides who receives death benefits and treats nominations as a wish applied at its discretion, so keep it up to date. See pension death benefits.

Cleared cash in the account may earn interest (or have it deducted if rates are negative) at a rate Quilter sets, calculated daily and applied on the first working day of the month. There is no Product Charge on cash, but Quilter keeps the difference between its published rate and what its banking partners pay. Current rates are on its cash deposit page, quilter.com/cashdeposit, because they change.

Quilter pension withdrawals: common questions

How long does money take to arrive?

The Charge Basis 3 terms say one-off withdrawals are paid within 10 working days after Quilter receives everything it needs. A holding in a Quilter Smoothed Fund has its own 10-working-day notice period first, so payment may take longer. Other pension firms' timings are in how long cashing in takes.

Can I stop or change regular withdrawals?

Yes: the terms let you start, change or stop income at any time, with 10 working days' notice to affect the next payment. Regular payments are cancelled if the only holding is a suspended fund or if active funds fall below your regular amount, and Quilter does not make a part payment.

Can I take the whole account at once?

The terms allow retirement benefits from all of the account. Tax on a large withdrawal is the main catch, covered in cashing in a whole pension. Whether that suits your own pot can be talked through, free, by the adviser who phones after the form here is sent.

Is income tax taken off before I am paid?

Quilter says it will deduct income tax from income withdrawals where HMRC requires it. A tax-free lump sum depends on having enough Lump Sum Allowance when you ask.