Can I Take My Pension Before Age 57? Understanding the 2028 Pension Age Changes
If you are planning to retire in your mid-50s, an important pension change is getting closer.
The normal minimum pension age (NMPA) is the earliest age at which most people can normally start taking benefits from a personal or workplace pension without creating an unauthorised payment tax charge.
It is currently age 55, but from 6 April 2028 it will increase to 57, unless you have a protected pension age or meet one of the limited exceptions, such as taking benefits because of ill health.
For most people, this change will be relatively straightforward. However, anyone born between 6 April 1971 and 5 April 1973 who is considering accessing their pension before age 57 could face a period when some pension benefits cannot be accessed.
That makes forward planning particularly important.
Why is the minimum pension age changing?
The government originally announced the increase as part of a policy to broadly maintain a ten-year gap between the normal minimum pension age and State Pension age.
With State Pension age increasing to 67, the normal minimum pension age will therefore increase to 57 from 6 April 2028.
The wider principle is also that pension savings are intended to provide an income later in life.
Who could be affected?
Broadly, the position depends on your date of birth.
Born before 6 April 1971
You will already have reached age 57 by 6 April 2028, so the increase in the normal minimum pension age should not restrict you because of your age.
Born between 6 April 1971 and 5 April 1973
This is the group where you may need more careful planning.
You will reach age 55 before 6 April 2028, meaning you may be able to start taking pension benefits before the rules change.
However, if you are still under age 57 on 6 April 2028, you may then be unable to access additional pension benefits that had not already been put into payment until you reach age 57, unless you have a protected pension age or another exemption applies.
HMRC has confirmed that it is developing transitional regulations intended to allow benefits which someone has already become entitled to before 6 April 2028 to continue after the change. However, HMRC has also made clear that the detail remains provisional until those regulations are finalised.
This is an important distinction.
Starting to take benefits before April 2028 does not necessarily mean that your entire remaining pension automatically becomes accessible after 6 April 2028.
Born on or after 6 April 1973
You will not reach age 55 before the normal minimum pension age increases.
Unless you have a protected pension age or another exemption applies, you will normally need to wait until age 57 before taking benefits.
What happens if I start drawing my pension before April 2028?
HMRC's current proposed transitional approach provides some useful clarity.
For example, if someone aged 55 or 56 has already taken the necessary steps to become entitled to pension benefits before 6 April 2028, those benefits should be able to continue after 6 April 2028.
However, if they later want to crystallise additional pension funds, they will generally need to wait until they reach age 57.
This creates a potential retirement income gap for some people.
And that is where financial planning becomes important.
An example: a five-month pension access gap
Consider someone born on 5 September 1971.
They reach age 55 on 5 September 2026 and decide to start taking benefits from part of their pension, perhaps using tax-free cash to help fund the early stages of retirement.
By 6 April 2028, they are still only 56.
Under HMRC's current proposed transitional approach, they could continue to receive benefits they were already entitled to before 6 April 2028.
However, they may be unable to move additional, previously untouched pension funds into drawdown until their 57th birthday on 5 September 2028.
This could create a gap of around five months.
What might the planning involve?
Rather than discovering the problem in April 2028, they can incorporate the gap into the retirement plan beforehand.
Depending on the individual's circumstances, options might include:
using ISA savings or cash reserves during the gap;
drawing sufficient pension benefits before 6 April 2028;
changing the timing of retirement;
using other investments or income sources; or
combining several sources of retirement income.
The right solution depends on the person's wider financial position, tax position, and retirement objectives.
The important point is that the pension should not be looked at in isolation.
A second example: a much longer gap
Now consider someone born on 5 September 1972.
They reach age 55 in September 2027 and start drawing benefits before 6 April 2028.
However, they do not reach age 57 until 5 September 2029.
Potentially, therefore, they could have around 17 months between 6 April 2028 and their 57th birthday when additional, previously untouched pension benefits cannot normally be accessed.
For somebody planning to stop work at 55, that could be significant.
Again, the answer does not necessarily have to be taking more pension money.
Their financial plan might instead deliberately use ISA investments, cash or other assets to fund this period.
This is one of the benefits of looking at retirement as a complete financial plan rather than simply asking:
"When can I take my pension?"
A better question may be:
"How do all my assets work together to provide the income I need?"
What is a Protected Pension Age?
Some pension schemes give members the right to take benefits before the normal minimum pension age. This is known as a Protected Pension Age.
For the 2028 changes, protection can apply where certain conditions are met, including where the member had an unqualified right under the scheme rules, before 4 November 2021, to take benefits before age 57.
Importantly, protected pension ages generally apply on a scheme-by-scheme basis.
You could therefore have one pension you can access at 55 and another you cannot access until 57.
This is why it is worth checking the rules of each individual pension arrangement rather than assuming all pensions will work in the same way.
There were also protections associated with the previous increase in the normal minimum pension age from 50 to 55 in 2010.
What about firefighters, police officers and the Armed Forces?
The increase does not apply in the same way to members of the firefighters, police and Armed Forces public service pension schemes. These uniformed services schemes are specifically excluded from the 2028 increase.
You should still check individual scheme rules before making retirement decisions.
What do crystallised and uncrystallised pension benefits mean?
Pension terminology can make a relatively simple idea sound complicated.
Crystallised benefits are pension savings that you have already used to provide pension benefits.
For example, you may have moved part of your pension into flexi-access drawdown and taken a Pension Commencement Lump Sum.
The remaining pension savings that you have not yet used to provide benefits are generally referred to as uncrystallised funds.
You do not have to crystallise your entire pension at once.
For example, somebody with a £1 million pension might decide to crystallise £200,000 and leave the remaining £800,000 uncrystallised.
The distinction becomes particularly relevant to the 2028 age change because HMRC's proposed transitional rules distinguish between benefits someone has already become entitled to and new benefits they want to access after 6 April 2028.
How much pension tax-free cash can I take?
You can usually take up to 25% of pension benefits as tax-free cash, subject to your available allowances.
For most people, the standard Lump Sum Allowance is £268,275 in the 2026/27 tax year, although some individuals may have protections giving them a higher allowance.
This means the rule is not simply that everyone can take 25% of an unlimited pension pot tax-free.
Previous pension withdrawals and any applicable protections also need to be considered.
Retirement planning is becoming more interconnected
The increase in the normal minimum pension age is one of several changes affecting retirement planning.
From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will also be brought into the value of an individual's estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.
A year later, the normal minimum pension age rises to 57.
Taken together, these changes reinforce an important point:
Retirement planning should not start with the pension. It should start with the person and the plan.
At Ifamax Wealth Management, we have worked with clients for more than 20 years, helping them move from building wealth to using that wealth to support the life they want in retirement.
For someone planning to retire between 55 and 57, that might mean coordinating pensions with ISAs, investments, cash and other assets so that their income remains sustainable throughout retirement.
We will review the position of clients who may be affected by the 2028 changes and discuss options with them as part of their retirement planning.
If you are approaching retirement and would like to understand how the changes could affect your plans, speak to our Bristol financial planners.
Frequently Asked Questions
I turn 55 in March 2028. Can I access my pension?
Potentially, yes.
If your pension scheme allows access at age 55, you could start taking benefits before 6 April 2028.
Under HMRC's proposed transitional arrangements, benefits you have already become entitled to before 6 April 2028 should be able to continue afterwards.
However, if you want to access additional uncrystallised benefits after 5 April 2028, you will generally need to wait until age 57 unless you have a protected pension age or another exemption applies.
Does the increase to age 57 affect every pension?
It applies broadly across UK registered pension schemes, including defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements, although individual scheme rules and protected pension ages can change the position.
The firefighters, police and Armed Forces public service pension schemes are excluded from the increase.
Will the minimum pension age increase again?
Future governments could make further changes to pension ages.
The important point is that retirement plans should be reviewed rather than built around the assumption that today's pension, tax and retirement rules will remain unchanged indefinitely.
How do I know whether I have a Protected Pension Age?
Check the rules of the individual pension scheme or ask the pension provider.
A Protected Pension Age can apply to one pension without applying to another, so consider each arrangement separately.
If you are an Ifamax client, we can review your existing pension arrangements as part of your retirement planning.
Can I simply crystallise my whole pension before April 2028?
Whether that is appropriate depends on your individual circumstances.
Accessing pension benefits earlier than necessary can have tax, investment and retirement-income consequences. The objective should not simply be to get around the age change but to decide how and when your pension should form part of your wider retirement strategy.
Why could ISAs be useful if I retire before 57?
ISA savings are not subject to the normal minimum pension age.
For someone affected by the 2028 pension age change, ISA assets, cash, or other investments could provide income during a period when they can't access additional pension benefits.
This is why coordinating different types of assets can be an important part of retirement planning.
Important note
This article is distributed for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or an offer of any security for sale. This article contains the opinions of the author but not necessarily the Firm and does not represent a recommendation of any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Reference to specific products is made only to help make educational points and does not constitute any form or recommendation or advice. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed.
Article Written: August 2026, Tax Rates and Allowances may change in the future.