Post-Retirement Planning

An income drawdown plan is a pension plan that allows the plan holder to have the ability to take all or some of their retirement savings as an income directly from the plan and/or a cash lump sum, free of income and capital gains tax, and is sometimes referred to as the ‘tax-free cash lump sum” (TFCLS), subject to HMRC rules at any time after age 55. You don’t need to use all your retirement savings and you can decide how much tax-free cash and/or income you need and when you need it.

You can use your whole income drawdown plan for income, but if you do then you will only have an income account. Alternatively, you can split an income drawdown plan into two parts — the first part is similar to a pension plan whereby you can continue to make contributions (often known as the savings account). Monies held in the savings account are called uncrystallised funds. The second part (sometimes known as the income account), receives transfers of capital (uncrystallised funds) from the savings account. These funds, which are then used to pay any tax-free cash lump sums and/or income, then become crystallised. You won’t have a savings account unless you make additional contributions to your plan and it is not possible to move money from the income account back to your savings account.

You can withdraw all or some of your retirement savings, but the maximum that can be taken as a tax-free cash lump sum (TFCLS) is usually 25% of the total fund value. The funds can be withdrawn as TFCLS payments, either regularly or as single payments, regular taxable income payments or as a one-off taxable income payment or as a combination of TFCLS and taxable income payments. Any payments which include a TFCLS can be paid either monthly or yearly, and they’ll be paid until you use up all of your TFCLS. Once you’ve used up all of your tax-free savings, any future payments receive will be treated as income payments. Regular tax-free cash, and combined regular tax-free cash and taxable income payments, can be stopped or started at any point in your plan. Income payments can be paid monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly or on a one-off basis, and will be taxable. Whilst the income payments aren’t guaranteed for the rest of your  life, you do have the flexibility to increase or reduce your income. You can also change the frequency of your income payments. When you access all or part of your retirement savings it’s important that you think about your needs in both the early and later parts of your retirement. It is your responsibility to ensure your income will last the rest of your life. You can change your mind at any time and choose to buy a secure income.

If you’re currently receiving an income from another income drawdown plan, it may be possible for you to transfer the value of that plan to another income drawdown provider and continue taking an income from it. If you decide to transfer an existing plan or already have transferred a plan into another plan, the maximum income you can take from this transfer may be capped. This will be determined by rates produced by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD). You’re not restricted to this limit and if you take an income higher than the capped amount, your plan will become a flexi-access drawdown plan and the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) will apply to you. If your income is currently capped at the GAD rate, the new provider will recalculate the maximum level of income you can receive at least every three years until age 75 and then every year after that. Following these reviews, you may decide to increase/decrease the level of income you receive.

If you wish to continue making contributions to your plan while or after you’ve taken all or some of your retirement savings you may be limited to what you can contribute and receive tax relief on. This is known as the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA). This is considerably lower than the annual allowance and relates to any pension plan you may have into which you are making contributions – not just the one you have or are taking benefits from.

Pension investment funds are generally free of UK income and capital gains tax. However, they cannot reclaim tax deducted at source from the dividends of UK company shares. Also, there are limits on the amount you can invest in pension plans and on the maximum value of retirement savings that you can accumulate without being subject to a tax charge. These limits are known as the annual allowance and the lifetime allowance.

No, there are alternative products available on the market and you should seek independent financial advice to help you shop around to find the best product for you. Alternatively, you can speak to Pension Wise and get generic guidance, rather than specific advice, on the options available.

By law, there is a maximum total amount that you can pay into all pension plans in your name each tax year that will be eligible for tax relief. This maximum is called the annual allowance and is currently £40,000. This amount includes contributions made by you and by anyone else into your plan, for example, your employer. If total contributions exceed this limit in any year, then a tax charge will be payable on the excess, at your marginal rate.

If you’ve taken certain types of pension benefits, you’ll have a reduced Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) of £4,000. Your overall annual allowance will still be £40,000, but your annual allowance for all money purchase plans will be £4,000. You’ll have this lower annual allowance in certain circumstances, and your independent financial advisor can explain when this comes into effect.

If you die before age 75, the remaining value of your income drawdown plan can be paid to the individuals you nominated such as your spouse, civil partner or children/grandchildren (subject to the provider’s terms and conditions). The nominated beneficiaries will have three options; they can leave the benefits invested and take an income, should they so wish, purchase a secure income by way of an annuity or take the remaining value of the plan as a cash lump sum, free of income and capital gains tax. If you die after age 75 and you were using income drawdown, the remaining value of your invested plan will be paid to your nominated beneficiaries. The beneficiaries will have three options; again, they can leave the benefits invested and take an income if they so wish, purchase a secure income by way of an annuity or take the remaining value of the plan as a cash lump sum; this will be added to the individual’s taxable income and taxed at the individual’s highest marginal rate.

Depending on the type of income drawdown plan you have chosen your money can be invested in a number of different funds. You can choose one of three fund options. Each of these invests in a mix of assets including stocks and shares, commercial property, fixed interest investments (both government and corporate bonds) and some cash. When you purchased your income drawdown plan, you should have received a ‘key features’ document which should explain the different assets you can invest in and other useful information to help you understand how your provider manages your investment.

Yes, you can transfer your existing pension plans into others. However, any transfer must come from another UK-registered pension scheme or a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme. If you are considering transferring your pension from another scheme, and you know that you are in serious ill health when you do so, should you die within two years of the transfer this amount could become liable to inheritance tax. You should, therefore, ensure that you have fully considered your options and the differences between the two plans before making any transfers. For example, plan charges may be greater in the existing plan or the transfer value may be lower than the fund value. Also, there is no guarantee that the plan you transfer in to will perform better than your existing plan. If you’re unsure whether you should transfer your existing pension you should contact LR Connections for an appointment.