I am not a financial advisor and nothing in this post constitutes financial advice. All investments carry risk and the value of your investments can go down as well as up. Please do your own research and consider seeking independent financial advice before making any investment decisions.
Last reviewed 2 October 2026. All figures are correct at the time of writing.
When I found out the age I could take money from my pension was moving from 55 to 57, my first ‘how could they!?’ reaction quickly and quietly turned into relief.
The thought that ran through my head was something like this: well, at least I don’t have to even think about what I’m going to do with that money for an extra two years. It gave me more time to make a plan. More time to grow the pot and figure out what to do with it. And, if I’m completely truthful, two more years during which I physically couldn’t touch my pot and do something stupid with it.
I know that’s not the reaction the headlines expect. A rising pension age usually gets reported as a blow, and for some people it is, which I’ll come to. But I’m 52, I started investing properly at 45, and I know myself well enough to admit that a locked door has done more for my retirement than my willpower ever has.
So, can you take your pension at 55? This post covers the practical side: when the change happens, who it applies to, the exceptions that let some people keep 55, and what it means for your plans.
You can take your pension at 55 until 5 April 2028. From 6 April 2028 the minimum age rises to 57, unless you have a protected pension age or qualify on ill health grounds.
What this post contains
When can I take my private pension? The short answer
| Your situation | Earliest age |
| You reach 55 before 6 April 2028 | 55 (see the section on 55 and 56 year olds) |
| You reach 55 on or after 6 April 2028 | 57 |
| You have a protected pension age in that scheme | Your protected age, often 55 |
| You meet the ill health condition | Any age |
| Serious ill health, under a year to live | Any age, as a lump sum |
| Armed forces, police or firefighter public service schemes | The rise doesn’t apply |
Sources: HMRC’s Pensions Tax Manual (PTM062205) and section 10 of the Finance Act 2022. Correct at the time of writing.
Why the change to 57 might work in your favour
I’ll start with my track record, because it explains everything. I kept spare money in my stocks and shares ISA and treated it like a savings account. Something would come up, and I’d dip in. Every account I could reach, I raided. That’s why my monthly contributions now go into my SIPP: I proved to myself I couldn’t leave an accessible account alone.
So when I realised my SIPP would most likely stay locked until 57 rather than 55 (unless it turns out I have a protected pension age, which I’m still waiting to hear about), the extra two years looked like three gifts.
Two more years for the pot to grow. Every month I keep paying in, basic rate tax relief turns each ยฃ80 into ยฃ100, and everything already in there stays invested for longer. Growth is never guaranteed, and markets fall as well as rise, but historically time in the market has been on the side of long term investors.
Two more years to make a plan. At 55 I’d have been facing big decisions about the 25% tax free amount (capped at the ยฃ268,275 lump sum allowance, under current rules), whether to draw an income, and how it all fits around my State Pension. Now I’ve got until 57 to work those out properly, with my own numbers in front of me.
Two fewer years to do something rash. Knowing a tax free lump sum could land at 55 would have been a test, and with my ISA history, I’m not sure I’d have passed it. The rule takes that temptation off the table for a while longer.
That’s my experience, and it won’t be everyone’s. If you’d planned to stop work at 55 and live on your pension until your State Pension starts, those two years now have to be funded from somewhere else, such as an ISA or savings. And if your health or your job makes another two years of work hard to face, this change can feel like the goalposts moving at the worst possible moment. If that’s you, check whether you have a protected pension age (covered below), and then revisit how much you need to retire in the UK with the new date built in, so you know exactly where the gap sits.
Why the normal minimum pension age is rising to 57
The normal minimum pension age is the earliest age the tax rules let you take money from a private or workplace pension. It’s been 55 since 2010, and section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 moves it to 57 from 6 April 2028.
The thinking goes back to 2014. In its 2021 consultation on the change, the government explained that it uses State Pension age as the best guide to when people retire, and that it’s appropriate in principle for the minimum pension age to sit around ten years below it. With State Pension age rising to 67, that put the private pension age in the UK at 57. The government’s summary adds that the rise reflects longer lives and could encourage people to save for longer. So the pension age moving from 55 to 57 was announced years ago. It’s simply arriving now.
Protected pension age: the exception you might already have
Some people get to keep 55. You have a protected pension age if, immediately before 4 November 2021, your scheme’s rules gave you an unqualified right to take benefits before 57, meaning you didn’t need anyone’s permission. HMRC’s guidance (PTM062215) adds that the scheme rules had to include that right on 11 February 2021.
The detail that catches people out is that protection works scheme by scheme. You can have it in one pension and not in another, so a protected age on an old workplace pension tells you nothing about your SIPP.
This is where I am right now. I moved three old pension pots into my SIPP about seven years ago, and if you hold a SIPP too (I explain how they work in my What Is A SIPP guide), whether you have protection depends on that SIPP’s own rules. I’ve asked Interactive Investor and I’m still waiting for an answer. If you have more than one pension, the question I’d put to each provider is short:
“Does this pension have a protected pension age under the 2028 rules?”
[Link to post 24 here once it’s live.]
What happens to a protected pension age if you transfer?
This is the part worth slowing down for, because a transfer can quietly change what you’ve got. According to HMRC’s guidance on transfers (PTM062250), it depends on the type of transfer.
A block transfer. This is when you move across together with at least one other member of your scheme, usually as part of a bulk move. Your protected age carries over to the new scheme.
An individual transfer. You can keep a protected age of 55 or 56, but only on the money you transferred, which is ring fenced at that age. Anything already in the receiving pension, and anything you pay in afterwards, follows the new pension age of 57.
So if you consolidate a protected pot into an existing SIPP, you could end up with two access ages inside one account. That’s workable, but it’s worth knowing before you sign anything.
You may read that you lose protection on any transfer. That rule belongs to an older regime, the protection rules from before 2006, and it isn’t how the 2028 protection works.
MoneyHelper’s transfer guide also lists a protected pension age as a reason a transfer might not suit you, if your current scheme still lets you take money from 55 after 6 April 2028. I’m a big fan of tidying up old pensions, and I go through the whole process in my post on consolidating your pensions. I’d just add “do I have a protected pension age?” to the list of questions you ask before moving any pot.
If you’re 55 or 56 when the change happens
This is the group with the least certainty. MoneyHelper warns that if you’re 55 or 56 when the minimum pension age reaches 57, you might lose access until you turn 57, even if you’ve already taken money.
HMRC has published draft transitional rules for people in exactly this position. Under the draft, anyone who takes an uncrystallised funds lump sum (a one off withdrawal straight from an untouched pot) before 6 April 2028 couldn’t take another until 57, whereas money already moved into drawdown could keep paying out. These are draft rules only. HMRC consulted on them, closing on 28 September 2026, so check gov.uk for the final version before you make any decision based on them.
Can I take my pension before 55? Two legitimate ways to access your pension early
There are only two routes the tax rules allow.
Ill health. Your scheme needs evidence from a registered medical practitioner that you can’t carry on your job because of a physical or mental condition, and you have to actually stop doing it. That’s the legal minimum set out in HMRC’s guidance (PTM062100). Your scheme’s own rules may be stricter, and if you recover, an ill health pension can be reduced or stopped.
Serious ill health. If a doctor confirms in writing that you’re expected to live for less than a year, you can take your untouched pension savings as a lump sum at any age, under HMRC’s serious ill health rules (PTM063400).
Anyone offering you early access outside those two routes is a red flag, however professional they sound. Money taken out early is an unauthorised payment, and in the worst case the tax alone can reach 55%. HMRC’s guidance (PTM134100) sets out a 40% charge, plus a 15% surcharge when unauthorised payments add up to 25% or more of your pension within 12 months, and that’s before any fees the scammer takes. I’ve covered the warning signs, and what does and doesn’t protect your money, in Is My Pension Safe?
Can I take my pension at 55 and still work?
Yes. The rules don’t require you to retire or even cut your hours, and MoneyHelper notes that many people use their pension to top up a salary while working fewer days.
One thing to know if you’re still paying in. Once you take taxable money flexibly, for example cash from drawdown or an uncrystallised funds lump sum, the money purchase annual allowance kicks in, and you can only pay ยฃ10,000 a year into your defined contribution pensions with tax relief (correct at the time of writing). For anyone hoping to keep building their pot, that’s a big drop. [Link to post 25 here once it’s live.]
When can I withdraw my pension? What to check now
These are the checks I’d make, in order:
- Work out when you reach 55. If it’s before 6 April 2028, the section on 55 and 56 year olds applies to you. If it’s on or after that date, your starting point is 57.
- Ask every provider whether you have a protected pension age. One email or call per pension, using the question above.
- Check before any transfer or consolidation. A protected age is easier to keep than to get back.
- Get your State Pension forecast. It’s free on gov.uk’s Check your State Pension service, and it tells you how big the gap between your private pension and your State Pension really is.
Once you’ve got those answers, it’s worth seeing how your pot compares with others your age in my guide to the average pension pot by age in the UK, then putting your new access date into your retirement number.
If the lock has you wondering whether paying into a pension is still worth it at all, I’ve weighed that up in Are Pensions Worth It? For me, the two extra years behind that door are part of the deal, and I’m glad of every one of them.
FAQ
Can I take my pension at 55? Yes, if you reach 55 before 6 April 2028. From that date the normal minimum pension age rises to 57, so anyone turning 55 on or after it will usually wait until 57. The exceptions are a protected pension age in that particular scheme, the ill health and serious ill health routes, and the armed forces, police and firefighter public service schemes. If you’re 55 or 56 on the day it changes, you could lose access until 57, so check with your provider.
When can I access my workplace pension? The same tax rules apply to workplace pensions as to personal pensions and SIPPs: 55 until 6 April 2028, then 57, unless you have a protected pension age. Your scheme may also set its own, later normal pension age, and taking money before that can mean a smaller pension, especially in a final salary scheme. Your scheme administrator can tell you both ages and whether any protection applies.
What is the normal minimum pension age? The normal minimum pension age is the earliest age the tax rules allow you to take money from a private or workplace pension without an unauthorised payment charge. It’s been 55 since 2010 and rises to 57 on 6 April 2028, under the Finance Act 2022. The government’s stated principle is to keep it around ten years below State Pension age. It doesn’t apply to the State Pension itself.
Can I take my pension before 55? Only in two cases. You can take benefits early on ill health grounds, with evidence from a registered medical practitioner that you can’t do your job and have stopped. And if you’re expected to live less than a year, you can take your untouched savings as a lump sum at any age. Anyone offering another way in is a red flag, because unauthorised payments can be taxed at up to 55%.
Does the change to 57 affect my State Pension? No. The State Pension has its own, separate State Pension age, set by different rules, and the rise to 57 only affects private and workplace pensions. You can check your own State Pension age and get a forecast of how much you’re likely to receive on gov.uk. It’s worth doing both, because the gap between your private pension age and your State Pension age is the stretch you’ll need to fund yourself.
Will I lose my protected pension age if I transfer? Not necessarily. On a block transfer, where you move with at least one other member, your protected age carries over. On an individual transfer, you can keep a protected age of 55 or 56, but only on the money you transfer, which is ring fenced. Anything already in the new scheme, and anything you add later, follows 57. Ask about protection before you move any pension.