Whether you're saving for life in retirement or want to save money for long-term goals, our guides, products and tools can help you save efficiently for the future. From Stocks & Shares Individual Savings Account (ISA) to personal pensions there's a range of options for your needs.
Pensions are a tax-efficient way to save for retirement. We can help you get a pension plan, prepare for retirement, and understand the ways you can take your pension money when you come to retire.
We believe good financial advice can make a difference when it comes to achieving your goals. In this section you can find out what you could gain from taking financial advice, when you might need it and how to find the right adviser for you
Our helpful articles are full of tips and information to help you make the most of your money. Whether you're starting to save for life's big moments or you're getting close to retirement, there's something for everyone.
Whether you're an existing customer or new to Standard Life, we're here to help you. We have information to help you contact us, get the most out of our website and find the information you need.
This field is required
Understanding investments and ways to save smarter
Manage your money with these tools and calculators
Save money for retirement and your long-term goals
Invest money flexibly with a range of investment options
Understanding pensions and planning for retirement
See if your pension savings are on track and more
Understand the different types and what you can do
Explore ways to take your savings at retirement
Get started with financial advice
Find out how you could benefit from working with a financial adviser
Speak to one of our specialist retirement advisers
Get professional advice from 1825, our financial planning business
Tips to help you start saving for big life moments and ways to keep on track with your goals
Find out how to make the most of your regular income with these helpful money guides
Learn more about retirement planning and how to take your life savings
Need to speak with us? Find the best way to contact us.
Find out how we can support a range of your needs
Learn more about our services and manage your account
We use cookies when you visit our websites to give you the best experience possible and to keep things secure.
We'd also like your consent to set other cookies to help us further improve our website and to tailor the marketing you see on apps and other websites you visit.
Select "Accept all" to agree to all cookies, or "Manage" to choose which cookies we use.
When you start taking money from your pension, you can usually take the first 25% of your pension tax-free. The rest of your money will be subject to tax when you take it so you could pay income tax depending on your circumstances.
HMRC guidelines mean that taxable withdrawals from your pension can sometimes be taxed at an emergency rate. This can lead to you paying more tax than you need to.
If you take a regular income from your pension, the tax will usually balance itself out so you don’t overpay. However, if you take lump sums when you need them, emergency tax might apply then. If you pay more tax than you need to, you can reclaim this from HMRC which can take around five to six weeks.
You can try our quick and easy tool to see if you’re able to reclaim tax on your pension lump sums. Simply answer three short questions and we’ll give you more information about your options.
Is this the first time you've taken cash from this pension?
What are you taking from your pension pot?
How much money are you taking from your pot?
How much is in your pot?
Are you cashing-in all of your pot?
If we don’t already have your tax details, your first payment will be on an emergency tax basis. This means we'll normally have to deduct more tax than you owe to begin with. We’ll contact HMRC and will normally pay back any extra tax you’ve paid in your future income payments.
This process is similar to when you start a new job – it can take a month or two to sort out your tax but it’s all sorted out for you.
Once we do have your up-to-date tax details, the right amount of tax should be deducted from your payments for you. You won’t normally need to do anything else.
If you’re just taking money from your tax-free cash amount (normally 25% of your pension pot) so there's no tax to pay.
When you cash-in your whole pension pot you’ll normally receive the first 25% tax-free and need to pay income tax on the rest. In this situation, if your pot is worth £10,000 or less strict HMRC guidelines normally require us to deduct basic rate tax on the payment upfront.
For some people this is just right, others can reclaim some tax and some higher earners will need to pay extra tax on top. This depends on your total income in this tax year – this includes salary, state pensions and rental income.
Claim your tax back:
If you've stopped working, have no pension income (other than the state pension) and aren't receiving benefits:
Complete a P50Z (opens in a new tab)
If you're still working, receiving other pension income or receiving benefits:
Complete a P53Z (opens in a new tab)
In many cases, there’s nothing more to do – the basic rate tax you owe is already deducted for you.
If your earned income plus the taxable part of the money you're taking from this pension pot takes you over £50,000 (UK) you'll need to pay higher rate tax on everything above this amount. You can do this by contacting HMRC.
You'll owe higher rate or additional rate tax on the taxable part of this pension pot. We’ve already deducted basic rate tax for you and the extra can be paid by contacting HMRC.
The figures above are based on the position in England,Wales and Northern Ireland. Different tax bands and rates apply in Scotland.
There are three steps to consider:
The amount of income tax due on the balance depends on your total income in the tax year.
When we make the payment to you, strict HMRC guidelines require us to deduct tax from your payment upfront on an “emergency tax basis”. This is because we don’t know your tax details yet. The emergency tax basis requires us to deduct tax as if you took the same amount every month.
This usually means we have to deduct too much tax upfront – sometimes as much as double the amount you actually need to pay.
We'll normally be able to take the right amount of tax from your payment. Because you've already made a withdrawal we should have your tax details, so you won't have to do anything else.
There are three steps to consider:
The amount of income tax due on the balance depends on your total income in the tax year.
When we make the payment to you, strict HMRC guidelines require us to deduct tax from your payment upfront on an “emergency tax basis”. This is because we don’t know your tax details yet. The emergency tax basis requires us to deduct tax as if you took the same amount every month.
So if you take £20,000 as taxable income, we have to deduct tax as if you were taking 12 times this amount (£240,000) in this tax year.
This usually means we have to deduct too much tax upfront – sometimes as much as double the amount you actually need to pay.
Complete a P55 on Gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
If you've stopped working, have no pension income (other than the state pension) and aren't receiving benefits:
Complete a P50Z on Gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
If you're still working, receiving other pension income or receiving benefits:
Complete a P53Z on Gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
We'll deduct tax on any taxable part of the payment using these details. There is still a chance the tax you pay may be more or less than you're due. This is because there could be other things that affect your tax situation that we don't know about.
Don't worry though - if you've set up a regular income we’ll contact HMRC and will normally balance the tax across your future income payments to ensure that you haven't paid too much.
This process is similar to when you start a new job – it can take a month or two to sort out your tax but it’s all sorted out for you.
HMRC guidelines require us to deduct “emergency tax” from any taxable part of your payment upfront. This means we're required to deduct tax as if you took the same amount every month.
So if you take £20,000 as taxable income, we have to deduct tax as if you were taking 12 times this amount (£240,000) in this tax year.
This usually means we have to deduct too much tax upfront – sometimes as much as double the amount you actually need to pay.
Claim your tax back:
Complete a P55 on Gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
If you've stopped working, have no pension income (other than the state pension) and aren't receiving benefits:
Complete a P50Z (opens in a new tab)
If you're still working, receiving other pension income or receiving benefits:
Complete a P53Z on Gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
You may notice we've used the word "normally" throughout this guide. That’s because tax can get a little bit complicated at times.
Tax rules and legislation can change. Any information given is based on our understanding of law and current HM Revenue & Customs practice, as at April 2020.
This information is also based on the tax position for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Different tax rates and bands apply to Scottish residents
We have more useful guides to help you understand how tax might affect your money when you retire.