Sunny Bharj
Independent Financial Adviser
Tony Springer
Independent Financial Adviser
Each provider charges differently and lets you take money out in different ways. Some will not pay you an income at all unless you move the pot.
Each job you leave can leave a pot behind at a different provider, each with its own charges, its own login and its own rules for taking the money out. The pages below set out, provider by provider, what each one charges where it publishes that, what it lets you do from 55, and how to reach it.
The rules on charges and exit fees below apply whichever provider holds your pot.
FCA policy statement PS16/24, gov.uk charge cap guidance and the Pensions Dashboards connection timetable, checked 2 October 2026.
The government's Pension Tracing Service gives you contact details for a scheme from the employer's or provider's name. It does not tell you whether you have a pension there or how much is in it. Search at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details, or call 0800 731 0175, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm.
Pensions dashboards will let you see all your pensions in one place. Schemes must connect by 31 October 2026. The MoneyHelper dashboard will be the first open to the public, and no launch date has been published yet.
Master trusts such as Nest publish one charge for everyone. Insurers such as Aviva and Scottish Widows set a charge for each employer, so your pot's charge is in your own documents.
Some schemes pay drawdown from inside the scheme. NOW: Pensions offers cash only, and nobody in its scheme can draw an income without moving the money.
With-profits plans, guaranteed annuity rates and protected tax-free cash belong to the plan. A transfer can lose them.
Your annual statement shows it, or ask the provider. Some, such as Aviva, have a lookup by plan number.
A personal pension taken out before 31 March 2017 can charge up to 1% once you are 55. One taken out after that cannot charge you to leave at all once you can access it.
It can cut charges and paperwork, and it can also lose a guarantee. Check each plan's features before anything moves.
The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Transferring a pension can mean losing valuable benefits. Charges and options shown are those published by each provider on the date checked.
A 1.8% charge on what goes in and 0.3% a year on the pot. No annuities in-house.
Read the answer →A not-for-profit master trust charging 0.5% a year plus £4.50, with drawdown in the scheme.
Read the answer →£2 a month plus 0.3% a year. Cash only: no drawdown and no annuity in the scheme.
Read the answer →Charges set per employer and shown in your account. Drawdown inside the scheme.
Read the answer →Workplace charges set per employer. Drawdown through Aviva's SIPP. Older with-profits plans carry an MVR.
Read the answer →Part of Lloyds Banking Group. No transfer-out charge, but older with-profits plans can carry an MVR.
Read the answer →No fee to transfer or take income. Drawdown is a separate plan, and protected cash can be lost on a move.
Read the answer →A mutual that shares profits with eligible members. With-profits plans can carry an MVR or a guaranteed annuity rate.
Read the answer →Drawdown at no set-up charge. A with-profits guarantee is lost on transfer or surrender.
Read the answer →Provided by Scottish Equitable. Drawdown means moving into a separate Retirement Income Account.
Read the answer →No exit fees. Withdrawals are arranged by phone, and some plans offer no regular income.
Read the answer →Part of M&G, not Prudential plc. Some plans carry a guarantee, and with-profits can carry an MVR.
Read the answer →Independent Financial Adviser
Independent Financial Adviser
A first conversation of about twenty minutes, at no cost to you. Tell us what is on your mind: a pension you have lost track of, a fixed rate ending, a will you keep meaning to write.