No. You need to be aged 55 in order to access your pension savings. This is a legal requirement set down by government to make sure that pension funds are used to support you in later life.
Once you’ve reached age 55 you can access your pension at any time, even if you specified a later retirement age when you originally started your plan.
For NOW: Pensions members the only exception to this rule is if you’re seriously or terminally ill and you’re totally unable to work as a result of your illness. If you find yourself in this situation, please email us at membersupport@nowpensions.com and we can talk to you about your options. You don’t need to use a third-party pension release company to arrange this.
Pension transfers
You can also transfer your pension savings to another suitable pension provider. However, they will not be able to give you access to your money any sooner than we’re allowed to.
Transferring out of a pension is a big decision. For free and impartial guidance about your pension savings, please visit or contact Pension Wise or call 0800 138 3944 to book a phone or face-to-face appointment.
Pension Wise will provide you with information, but not advice.
Before you make any decision about transferring your pension savings, we recommend you take independent financial advice. The adviser will need to be authorised to give advice on pension transfers.
Watch out for pension scams
Anyone who tells you that they can get you access to your pension before age 55, other than in the serious ill health case mentioned above, will be a pension scam and not authorised by The Pensions Regulator or the Financial Conduct Authority.
There has been an increase in scams since the pandemic, as savers may be looking to transfer pension savings while markets are unstable. Victims of pension scammers are likely to lose all of their money. Find out more about how to protect your pension here.
You can also find out about how to protect your savings from pension fraud on The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority websites.