Once you turn 55, you’ll need to think about:

• When you want to take your retirement savings
• How you want to take your retirement savings

When's the right time?

You can start taking your TPT savings any time once you’ve reached age 55. Remember though, unless you have other savings or income, this money will need to last for the rest of your life.

How to take your savings

You can choose how to use your retirement savings from one, or a combination of, the following options:

1. Buy a guaranteed income (‘annuity’)
2. Draw a flexible income – the ‘drawdown’ option
3. Take your savings as one lump sum, or a little at a time to suit you

Regardless of which option (or options) you choose, you are able to take 25% (or a quarter) of the total value of your savings as a tax-free lump sum.

Flexible income

One option available to you when you choose to take your savings pot is to take lump sums as and when you want. This is known as flexible drawdown.

With the ‘flexible drawdown’ option, you would need to transfer your savings pot out of the Scheme to another provider who specialises in flexible drawdown plans. You could then take lump sums from your savings pot with the new provider as and when you need to.

Don’t forget – you can take 25% of your retirement savings tax-free. You can either take 25% of your full pot as a tax-free amount or you could take 25% of each withdrawal as a tax-free amount until you've reached your maximum tax-free cash allowance. With this option it’s important to keep your investment choices under regular review.

Advantages of this option

• You can adjust your income to suit your needs and will not be tied into a fixed arrangement
• You can keep your options open for the future
• You may be able to receive a higher overall income, depending on the investment performance of your savings
• You may have other options available later on, such as buying a regular income

Disadvantages of this option

• If you live a long time, you may outlive your savings pot
• Any money left in your savings pot remains invested, so it could go up or down in value – meaning you could not only gain but also lose some of the value over time
• The amount of income you receive is not guaranteed
• Withdrawals from your savings pot may affect the assessment of any Government means-tested benefits. Find out more
• As you get older you might find it more difficult to manage your finances

Further information & help

You can use the modeller and tools on your Retirement Savings Account to help you plan for retirement.

Pension Wise is a free impartial guidance service offered by the government. Click here to find out more on the options available to you and the types of support they can offer you.

Other retirement options are available, you can click here to find out more. When you're reviewing your retirement options, you’ll need to read our Risk & Warnings page.