Do you know what your options are at age 55? Here you can find out what option might work best for you.

Your Normal Retirement Age under the Citi Plan is 60, but you don't need to wait until then to take your money, it can be at any time from age 55.

Once you reach age 55, you have two options from within the Citi Plan:

  1. You can take your entire pension savings as a single cash sum. 25% of this amount is tax-free, and the remainder will be taxed at your normal income tax rate.
  2. You could also take a tax-free cash sum of up to 25% of your pension account and then use the balance to buy an annuity to provide an income for life. Again, the income is taxed at your normal income tax rate.

You also have the option to transfer the value of your pension account to one or more different pension providers.

TThis can give you greater flexibility and will enable you to:

  1. Take a tax-free cash sum of up to 25% and invest the rest in a “flexi-access” drawdown arrangement. This means that you can make later future withdrawals when you wish. These will be taxed at your normal income tax rate. If you wish, you can also use some of this money to buy an annuity (income for life), either immediately or at a later date.
  2. Leave your account invested and take money out in multiple lump sums, where 25% of each lump sum will be tax free and the rest taxed at your marginal income tax rate. This is the option that is often described as treating your pension fund like a bank account. The technical name for this, which you may see used, is an Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS).

Although you are free to select any suitable pension provider you choose, the Plan Trustees have negotiated competitive terms with the Legal & General Mastertrust Pension Access Scheme and this is one option available to you if you want flexible access to your retirement savings. You can read more information about the here. Even though the Plan Trustees have negotiated competitive terms with Legal & General, they are not recommending or endorsing the Legal & General Mastertrust Pension Access Scheme. You’ll need to consider if this is the right option for you and the Trustees would encourage you to seek financial advice on this.

See how your options compare

If you’re thinking of using the ‘flexi-access’ drawdown option or in multiple lump sums, you can find useful information on MyCitiPension, in the ‘thinking flexibly’ leaflet located in the library. You can also find out how the Legal & General Mastertrust Pension Access Scheme compares to other providers and useful questions and considerations too.

You would need to satisfy certain conditions in order to access this facility, including that your pension account is at least £30,000. More information can be found here.

Legal & General has teamed up with LV= who have pension specialists that can offer financial advice at a competitive price, to help you make the right decisions for your retirement. More information is available on this here

If you do decide to take your pension benefits while still working at Citi, this will need Company consent and is at Trustee discretion.

Remember: Sometimes, and especially if you take your pension benefits while you’re still working, taking a lump sum or additional income from your pension can push you into a higher tax bracket. So it's important to consider your options carefully, for example how much income do you need and how much are you already receiving from sources other than your pension, if you think this might apply to you.

If you choose to take all of your money, you can still decide to build up your pot again, whilst working at Citi. Be aware though that the Government has set up a limit for people that do this, of £10,000, which is known as the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA). The Government has announced that this is reducing to £4,000 per year, and will be backdated to apply from 6th April 2017. The annual allowance applies across all of the schemes you belong to, it’s not a ‘per scheme’ limit and includes all of the contributions that you or Citi pay.

Find out more by going to MyCitiPension. Then you can go to either the News and Guides > Plan Library section, My Pension > My Investments, or you can look at the comparison of your options by going to My Projected Pension.

You can also find more information about your investment options as a Citi Plan member, including your three ‘lifestyle’ funds here.

What do you want to do next?

If you already know which option is for you, find out how to make it happen and what you need to do when it comes to your Citi pension savings.

What do you want to do in retirement? Your plans will help you work out which option will work best for you.

Find out more

Go to the Government’s Pension Wise service and start learning more about your options. You can also arrange to speak to someone and get free, impartial guidance on your next steps.