Introducing the Ready-Made Pension

Features and benefits

Expert managed

No need to choose your own investments.

Scottish Widows experts manage your pension, so you can feel confident it’s working for you. 

Grow early, protect later

Our experts start by investing your pension in investments with the potential for higher growth. Then as you near retirement, slowly move to lower-risk investments to help protect what matters most.

Tax relief

If you put £80 into your pension, it becomes £100 with 20% basic-rate tax relief.

If you’re a higher or additional rate taxpayer, you could also benefit from extra tax relief through self-assessment. 

Flexible access

Top-up and transfer in old pensions when it suits you and we’ll help you access your pension when the time is right.

Lloyds Pension Transfer Cashback Offer

 

Bring your pensions together and get cashback as a thank you

Transfer your pensions to Lloyds and manage everything in one place. You could get up to £5,000 cashback as a thank you.

Pension Transfer Offer

Offer terms and conditions

Why choose a Lloyds Ready-Made Pension?

  • A trusted partnership. Lloyds supports millions across the UK, partnering with Scottish Widows for pension, investment and retirement expertise. All part of one banking family.
  • We do the heavy lifting. We set up and manage your investments for you, no need to pick funds.
  • Flexible contributions. Add money your way. Set up regular payments, one-off top-ups and transfer in old pensions at any time.

 

  • Simple, competitive fees. Annual account fee of 0.3%, with a minimum of £5 each month. Ongoing charge figure of 0.1%.
  • Easy to manage. See your pension alongside your account in the mobile banking app.
  • Tax relief. For every £80 you put into your pension, HMRC will usually add an extra £20. Higher and additional rate taxpayers can claim back even more through their annual tax return.

 

Why choose a Lloyds Ready-Made Pension?
 

  • A trusted partnership. Lloyds supports millions across the UK, partnering with Scottish Widows for pension, investment and retirement expertise. All part of one banking family.
  • We do the heavy lifting. We set up and manage your investments for you, no need to pick funds.
  • Flexible contributions. Add money your way. Set up regular payments, one-off top-ups and transfer in old pensions at any time.
  • Simple, competitive fees. Annual account fee of 0.3%, with a minimum of £5 each month. Ongoing charge figure of 0.1%.
  • Easy to manage. See your pension alongside your account in the mobile banking app.
  • Tax relief. For every £80 you put into your pension, HMRC will usually add an extra £20. Higher and additional rate taxpayers can claim back even more through their annual tax return.

 


Our retirement partner

Scottish Widows takes care of the daily running of our Ready-Made Pension and supports you as you plan for retirement.

With more than 200 years of pensions experience, they’ll help you understand your choices and decide how to take your pension when the time comes. They’re also part of the same family as us. 

Pensions are a long-term investment. The benefits you receive depend on a number of factors, including the value of your pension pot when you choose to claim any benefits. That value isn't guaranteed and can go down as well as up. It could fall below the amount paid in. Any tax treatment depends on your personal circumstances and may change in the future.

Invest in your future with a Ready-Made Pension

Here are some of the ways to help you save in a way that works for you.

Regular payments

Making regular top-ups could help you achieve the retirement you want.

You'll have the option to make monthly payments from £150, after any added tax relief.

Use our pension calculator to see what your retirement income could look like. 

One-off lump sum

If you have some extra money, a lump sum could give your pension a boost. If eligible, these payments will include tax relief.

You can open an account with a minimum lump-sum payment of £5,000. Once opened, you can pay in lump sums at any time and of any value over £100. 

Pension transfers

After changing jobs, you may have one or more pensions you no longer pay into. You can combine them into a single pot.

Transfers must have a combined value of at least £10,000 when opening an account. Once opened, transfers can be £1,000 or more. 

How to combine pensions

Our funds’ past performance

Here’s how the funds have performed over the last 5 years. Past performance isn’t a guarantee of future returns, but it can help you see how the funds have behaved through different market conditions.

Performance shown includes ongoing charges and transaction costs but excludes the 0.3% account fee.

How we invest your Ready-Made Pension

We want to make it easy to save for your retirement. That’s why we do the hard work and invest for you through our partners, Scottish Widows.

We invest your pension based on the age at which you’re planning to retire. 

If you’re years away from retiring, we invest to give you the best chance of growth. As you approach retirement, we move your portfolio into lower-risk investments to help protect your pension value.

For more information, please see the Ready-Made Pension Investment guide (PDF, 173 KB).

  • Remember that the data in this table refers to the past. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

    Past performance

    Date

    Managed growth fund 2 Cautious

    Managed growth fund 6 Adventurous

    Date

    31st Mar 2025 - 31st Mar 2026

    Managed growth fund 2 Cautious

    6.0%

    Managed growth fund 6 Adventurous

    14.6%

    Date

    31st Mar 2024 - 31st Mar 2025

    Managed growth fund 2 Cautious

    4.6%

    Managed growth fund 6 Adventurous

    6.0%

    Date

    31st Mar 2023 - 31st Mar 2024

    Managed growth fund 2 Cautious

    8.7%

    Managed growth fund 6 Adventurous

    13.8%

    Date

    31st Mar 2022 - 31st Mar 2023

    Managed growth fund 2 Cautious

    -6.9%

    Managed growth fund 6 Adventurous

    -2.9%

    Date

    31st Mar 2021 - 31st Mar 2022

    Managed growth fund 2 Cautious

    0.4%

    Managed growth fund 6 Adventurous

    7.8%

Ready to get started?

If you’re ready, opening a Lloyds Ready-Made Pension can help you build your pension for the future.

It's simple in the app

You must be registered for online banking to apply in the app.

Once you're in, select 'Apply', 'Pensions', then 'Open a Ready-Made Pension'.

Get the app

Apply online

We'll take you to the right place to get started.

Log in to apply

How to apply for a Ready-Made Pension

To apply, you must:

  • be aged 18 to under 75
  • be a UK resident and UK taxpayer
  • pay a minimum payment of £150 a month or £5,000 one-off (both include tax relief) or transfer pensions with a combined value of at least £10,000.

US persons and residents of the US are not eligible.

If you’re transferring, make sure any old pensions:

  • are from a UK-based provider
  • have not already entered into drawdown. For example, you’ve not taken an income or a tax-free lump sum from them
  • don’t have any valuable features or guarantees that you’d potentially lose upon transferring (see FAQs).

You’ll need your National Insurance number and, if transferring, the provider’s name, policy number and value of each pension.

Make sure you’ve read the key features document (PDF, 157KB) and terms and conditions (PDF, 261KB)

Fees and charges

Ready-Made Investment fees and charges

Our fees are clear and straightforward, making it easier to plan for your future. You’ll need to pay an annual account fee and investment charge. What you pay will depend on how much you invest.

  • Annual account fee of 0.3% (or a minimum of £5 a month).
  • Ongoing investment charges of 0.1%.

We won’t charge you for pension transfers – whether you’re transferring in or out. And we also don’t charge you to top up or drawdown your pension.

More on fees and charges

Are you on track for retirement?

Our pension calculator is a guide to what your retirement income could look like. See how making changes to your contributions or retirement age could make a difference to your pension value.

Pension calculator

Taking money from your pension

When the time comes, you can choose what’s right for you.

Take a taxable lump sum

You can take all or part of your pot, usually 25% tax‑free, with the rest taxed as income.

Flexible access (drawdown)

Keep your money invested and take what you need, when you need it, with 25% usually tax‑free.

Leave it invested

Do nothing for now and keep growing your pot for later. 

What your pension pot might look like

This Pension illustration document (PDF, 271 KB) gives an example of what happens when investing in a Ready-Made Pension over time. It shows any potential growth of a pension, starting from when you open your account, until you reach retirement.

Want a guaranteed income for life?

We don’t offer an annuity (a guaranteed income for life), but we can help you find providers if you want to explore that option.

See all retirement options

Let’s look at the details

  • No, you can transfer one or more older pensions, as long as the total initial value is over £10,000. This will open your Ready-Made Pension and once this is set up, you can add more pensions to it anytime in the future.

  • Please note that you can’t transfer every type of pension.

    We can’t accept:

    Pensions with guarantees

    This is a pension with a Guaranteed Annuity Rate. It means you could get a higher income than you’d get at today’s rates when you retire.

    Or

    Guaranteed Minimum Pension or Section 9(2B) rights

    These may provide you with a guaranteed income when you retire. You’re not likely to match this amount when transferring. Please check with your current provider, as they should have more details on this.

    Or

    Guaranteed Conversion Option:

    This allows you to convert your pension into a fund, which gives you access to a wider, more flexible range of benefit options. At today’s rates, it’s unlikely that this fund will be worth as much as your original pension.

    Pensions with defined benefits

    Also known as final salary benefits, this is where you receive guaranteed pension income based on your salary, rather than how much you’ve paid in. Your current provider should have more details on this.

    Workplace pension

    A pension that you and an employer still pay into.

    Other reasons you can’t transfer

    Your pension may be with a provider outside of the UK. It could be subject to a pension sharing or earmarking order following a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. Or it has been, or will be, set up using disqualifying pension credits. This is when the pension sharing order is applied to a pension already in payment or income drawdown.

  • To see what you may get back from your pension, we’ll provide an example illustration when you apply. These figures are only examples and aren’t guaranteed – they’re not minimum or maximum amounts.

    We’ll send you a personalised illustration when your Ready-Made Pension is set up.

    Use our pension calculator as a guide to see what your retirement income could be. You can also see how making changes to your contributions could make a difference to your overall pension pot.

  • The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) limit for personal pensions was abolished on 6 April 2024. It was replaced by the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA), which is £268,275, and the Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA), which is £1,073,100. The total number of tax-free lump sums, which can be paid from any pensions you have, is limited by these new allowances.

    There’s no limit to how much you can save into a pension throughout your lifetime. But there is an annual maximum called the ‘annual allowance’.

    You may still contribute the equivalent of 100% of your annual earnings each year. Or up to a maximum of £60,000 (whichever is lower). You can also carry forward up to three previous tax years’ worth of unused allowances.

    Find more information about the Lump Sum Allowance at gov.uk.

  • One of the benefits of investing into a pension is tax relief. If the basic rate of tax is 20%, for every £80 you pay in, the government will top this up with an extra £20.

    If you’ve told us you’re eligible, we’ll add basic rate tax relief automatically to any regular or one-off contributions you make into to your Ready-Made Pension. If you’re a higher rate taxpayer, you can claim additional tax relief through your self-assessment tax return.

    How much you can pay in without a tax charge will depend on your circumstances.

    • You can normally pay up to £60,000 (the Annual Allowance) into your pensions each tax year without paying a tax charge (or up to 100% of your taxable yearly income if less).
    • If you’re not working and don’t have any income, you can still pay in £3,600 each tax year (you pay in £2,880, with £720 tax relief).
    • If you’re a high earner, a lower limit could apply known as Tapered Annual Allowance. See further information at www.gov.uk.
    • If you’ve taken out a taxable cash sum or flexible income, the amount you can contribute without paying a tax charge is limited to £10,000 (the Money Purchase Annual Allowance).

    Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances. Your circumstances and tax rules may change in the future.

  • If you would like financial advice, you could speak to an Independent Financial Adviser. Unbiased and Vouchedfor will let you find a local adviser based on your requirements. There will be a charge for this service.

    You get free help and guidance through Pension Wise. If you’re over 50, you’ll also benefit from a free 60-minute appointment.

    Alternatively, Lloyds Wealth could also help. Personalised advice is available across a range of products and services. It all starts with a free, no obligation chat, then a financial plan that’s tailored to you. To be eligible, you’ll have at least £100,000 in sole or joint savings, investments or personal pensions, or sole income of at least £100,000. Fees and charges may apply.

  • You may forget about a pension you already have. This could impact how much you can save for retirement.

    For further support, you can go to The Pension Tracing Service, which is operated by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Learn more about our Ready-Made Pension

What is it?

What is a Ready-Made Pension? video

Who is it for?

Who is a Ready-Made Pension for? video

How do I apply?

How do I apply for a Ready-Made Pension? video

What are the benefits?

What are the benefits of a Ready-Made Pension? video

Explore your options

We want to make sure you know about our other pension options. Here’s one that might suit you.

Self-Invested Personal Pensions

Shape your future with a Lloyds SIPP, with the freedom to invest your way.

Explore Self-Invested Personal Pensions

Protecting your money

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects the eligible money you hold with us.

More about the FSCS

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Tax relief

Find out how a personal pension can help you save for retirement in a tax efficient way.

Pension tax relief

Combine pensions

Got some pensions elsewhere that you want to bring together?

Combine your old pensions

Pensions explained

We’re here to give you the confidence to start.

Pensions explained

Important legal information

Lloyds and Lloyds Bank are trading names of Lloyds Bank plc. Registered office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales No. 2065. Lloyds Bank plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 119278.

Ready-Made Pensions are provided by Embark Investment Services Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales (company number 09955930) with its registered office at 33 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1HZ. Embark Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register number 737356).