Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Drawdown definition

What does Drawdown mean? In pensions practice, pension drawdown means taking income from a money purchase (defined contribution) pension while keeping the remaining fund invested. In England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the statutory form is flexi‑access drawdown, defined in the Finance Act 2004 (as amended) and HMRC rules; capped drawdown persists only for existing arrangements. members can normally take a pension commencement lump sum (often up to 25% subject to current limits) and then choose variable withdrawals; income is taxed at the member’s marginal rates. First flexible access usually triggers the money purchase annual allowance for future contributions. On death, beneficiaries...

Pre‑6 April 2011 drawdown under UK registered pension schemes: unsecured and alternatively secured pensions, PCLS, GAD limits, death benefits, taxation, transfers and age‑75 rules [Archived]

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

THIS PRACTICE NOTE CONCERNS drawdown PENSIONS STARTED BEFORE 6 APRIL 2011 — ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note outlines the legal framework applying to drawdown arrangements under registered pension schemes entered into before 6 April 2011, when these were referred to as ‘unsecured pension’ and ‘alternatively secured pension’. This archived Practice Note is not maintained. For information on the legal regimes for drawdown on or after 6 April 2011, see the following Practice Notes:

Drawdown between 6 April 2011 and 5 April 2015 [Archived]
Drawdown from 6 April 2015
Drawdown and death benefits from 6 April 2015

What is a drawdown pension?

The A‑day tax simplification measures, effective from 6 April 2006, introduced a new drawdown regime for registered pension schemes, replacing the previously limited facility to draw down pensions that existed beforehand. The A‑day changes brought in the concepts of the ‘unsecured pension’ and the ‘alternatively secured pension’. Following amendments to the drawdown regime on and after 6 April 2011, the term ‘drawdown pension’ replaced those expressions. For further details on the A‑day changes, see Practice Note: The Finance Act 2004, A‑day and the pensions...

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Wyn Derbyshire

gunnercooke LLP

Wyn is a partner at gunnercooke LLP and specialises in pensions, trust and employment law in all industry sectors, dealing with the transactional, advisory and documentation aspects.He also has wide experience of the pensions implications of heavyweight corporate transactions and flotations, the issues arising from the establishment and merger of pension schemes, and sex equalisation and other discrimination issues in respect of benefits provided by pension schemes. In addition, he provides advice to pension scheme trustees generally.Recent transactions include advising Amcor on pension matters relating to the acquisition of Alcan business and the acquisition of Northern Foods PLC by Boparan Holdings.He is a co-author (with Stephen Hardy and Stephen Maffey) of TUPE: Law and Practice, published by Spiramus Press (now in its 4th edition), and co-author (with Stephen Hardy and David Wicks) of Money & Work, published by Spiramus Press in August 2007. He has also...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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