Personal Pension age to increase to 57 from April 2028

Draft legislation has been published with the intention of increasing normal minimum pension age (NMPA), which is the minimum age at which most pension savers can access their pensions without incurring an unauthorised payments tax charge unless they are retiring due to ill-health, from age 55 to 57 in 2028.

There follows a consultation on the implementation of the increase and a proposed framework of protections for pension savers who already have a right to take their pension at a pre-existing pension age. This consultation was launched on 11 February 2021 and closed on 22 April 2021.

Currently registered pension schemes must not normally pay any benefits to members until they reach NMPA. From 6 April 2010 the NMPA has been age 55 (before 6 April 2010 it was age 50).

Registered pension schemes are also not permitted to have a normal pension age lower than age 55 and this applies equally to individuals in occupations that usually retire before 55 (for example, professional sports people).

See: Increasing the normal minimum pension age for Pensions Tax - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increasing-the-normal-minimum-pension-age-for-pensions-tax