Retirement Account

An award winning* personal pension that helps you manage your pension savings, plan for your retirement, and choose how to take your pension when the time is right – all in one place.

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Giving you control

Get a clear  view of your pensions savings and make regular or one-off payments to suit you. Start investing today for the retirement you want.

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Keeping it simple

Simple ready-made investment solutions to suit you. We’ll manage your investment so you don’t have to, with clear competitive charges.

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A plan for life

Flexibility to transfer in more pensions as you change jobs in the future and a choice of how to take your pension when the time comes.

How does it work?

Our retirement partners, Scottish Widows, have more than 200 years' experience, and are part of the same group as us. Together we bring you an award-winning* personal pension. If you have one or more pensions with a value of £10,000 or more, you can transfer them into our Retirement Account. Once your account is open you can make additional contributions which will normally benefit from tax relief.
*Source: Defaqto Annual Product Ratings - April 2023

We take the hassle out of making investment choices with our Governed Investment Strategies (GIS). Each strategy is a blend of funds known as Pension Portfolios. We ask you to choose your approach to risk and how and when you want to take your benefits when you retire and use this to place you into the appropriate GIS.

 

 

Let's take a look at those in more detail.

Your approach to risk

The first thing you need to think about is how you feel about the risks associated with investing into a pension. For most people it will be a balancing act. The Scottish Widows' Governed Investment Strategies are designed to suit your specific needs.

Governed Investment Strategies gradually reduce the risk level of your investments 15 years from retirement based on your chosen appetite to risk and how you’ve told us you plan to take your pension when you retire. 

Although this may lessen the potential for growth, it helps reduce the impact of potential market drops on the value of your pension as you get closer to retirement. Also, it reduces the likelihood of any sudden drops in its value. When you are 5 years away from retirement, we will start to move your investment into different funds depending on which option for retirement you have chosen.

You'll need to decide what type of investor you are:

  • Cautious - you don’t feel comfortable taking much risk with your money.
  • Balanced - you feel comfortable taking some risk with your money for, potentially, more reward.
  • Adventurous - you feel comfortable taking high risk with your money for, potentially, high rewards.

Pensions are a long-term investment. The retirement benefits you receive from your pension plan will depend on a number of factors including the value of your plan when you decide to take your benefits which isn’t guaranteed and can go down as well as up. The value of your plan could fall below the amount(s) paid in.

  • Appetite to risk

    How your pension pot could perform

    Appetite to risk

    Cautious
    You’re cautious with your investments and don’t feel comfortable taking much risk  with your money.

    How your pension pot could perform

    You can expect your pension pot to have some ups and downs in value. While there’s potential for some growth, there’s also potential for some losses.

    Appetite to risk

    Balanced

    You’re a balanced investor and feel comfortable taking some risk with your money for, potentially, more reward.

    How your pension pot could perform

    You can expect your pension pot to go up and down in value. While there’s potential for growth, there’s also the potential for losses.

    Appetite to risk

    Adventurous

    You’re an adventurous investor and feel comfortable taking high risk with your money for, potentially, high rewards.

    How your pension pot could perform

    You can expect your pension pot to have a lot of sharp ups and downs in value. While there’s potential for high growth, there’s also potential for significant losses.

    Questions to ask yourself when making a decision

    • The value of your pension can go down as well as up, in line with stock market fluctuations. Are you comfortable with this? If not, should you consider other investments alongside your pension to help you achieve your goals in retirement?
    • What would happen if your pension pot dropped dramatically in value?
    • Are you comfortable with taking some risk to potentially increase growth, or would you rather minimise the risk as much as you can?


    If you're unsure we’d recommend that you speak to a financial adviser, who will normally charge you for this advice.
     

When and how you'd like to take your pension

So we can manage your investments in a way to best suit you, you'll need to tell us:

  • When you'd like to retire - you can currently access your pension savings when you reach 55 years of age (rising to 57 in 2028),  but that doesn't mean this is the right option for you. For example, you could carry on working and keep your whole pot invested until you are ready to retire.
  • How you'd like to take your pension - our retirement account offers flexible options so when the time comes, you can access your pension in the best way to suit you, when the time is right. You'll also normally be able to take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free cash lump sum.

We know it might be difficult to decide now but if you change your mind about how you'd like to access your pension further down the line, it's easy to change.

The options to explore are:

  • This type of income is called an annuity.

    How does it work?
    You can normally take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free cash lump sum then use the rest to buy a regular guaranteed taxable income for life. 

    There are different types of annuity which can affect how much income you would get. 
    For example - You could choose to buy an increasing income, which would mean a lower starting income. You could also choose to provide a continuing income for a loved one after you die, which would reduce the level of income you’d receive.
     

  • Known as flexible access drawdown or retirement income.

    How does it work?

    You can normally take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free cash lump sum, and leave the rest invested. You can then take taxable withdrawals as and when you like, either as regular income or one-off lump sums. 

    The level of income you take and any investment growth will be key factors as to how long your pension pot will last and you may run out of money in retirement without careful planning.
     

  • Known as encashment.

    How does it work?

    You either take part or all of the value of your pension as a cash lump sum. The first 25% of each amount you take is tax-free and the rest is taxed at your highest tax rate by adding it to the rest of your income for that year. Please bear in mind this could take you into a higher tax bracket. 

    Be mindful - without very careful planning you could run out of money in your retirement.

Saving for your retirement

Did you know? You could benefit from tax relief on your contributions.

For every £80 you contribute into your account, the government will normally top up your pension with an extra £20.

If you pay tax at a higher rate you could also benefit from extra tax relief, claimed directly from HM Revenue & Customs.

Your retirement goals

If you transfer your pension(s) into a Retirement Account you'll have a clear view of how much you've got saved for your retirement. You can use this, alongside any other investments or savings you might have, to understand if you're on track for the retirement you want. Our pension calculator can help you get an idea of what your retirement income will be and show the impact of making additional contributions. Saving into the Scottish Widows Retirement Account is easy, with a few different options to choose from.

What are the options?

Regular payments

You can choose to save regularly to help you achieve the retirement you want. 

You'll have the option to make:

Monthly payments of £50 or more, after any added tax relief.

One-off top up

You can top up your pension pot with a lump sum if you'd like to give your savings a boost. 

The payment will need to be £2,000 or more, after any added tax relief.

Additional transfers

You might gather more pensions over time, for example if you move jobs. You could decide to add additional eligible transfers into your Retirement Account if they have a value of £2,000 or more. Transfers do not receive tax relief.

What might I get back?

View an example illustration (PDF, 1.5MB) to get an idea of how your pension might perform over time. You can look at different transfer and contribution values to see how this could impact your retirement income. Once your Retirement Account has been set up, you'll get a personalised illustration in your welcome pack.

Charges

Simple charges

All pension funds have fees, but by combining your pensions into the Retirement Account you’ll benefit from:

  • No charge for transferring to us.
  • No hidden transactional or drawdown charges.
  • Competitive , clear and transparent charges.

What charges will I pay?

We want to give you a clear picture of what it will cost once you set up a Retirement Account and invest in one of our Governed Investment Strategies (GIS). We’ll explain our charges and show you how much it will cost. You can use this to compare our charges against those of your old pensions. 

The overall charge is made up of a service and investment charge, both calculated yearly. This will automatically come out of your Retirement Account every month. If at a later date you choose to select your own funds outside of a GIS or move into a retirement income please be aware that charges, and therefore overall cost may differ, and may be higher.

Service charge

The service charge covers:

• All the admin

• Managing your account

How does it work? The more you have in your pension pot, the lower the service charge rate will be. It's easy to see what percentage you'll pay, you'll just need to know the value of your account.lloyds-service charge infographic

Investment charge

The Investment charge covers:

  • Managing your investments
  • All trading costs

The investment charge if you invest in our Governed Investment Strategies will normally be 0.1% a year.   If you choose a guaranteed income for life as your aim, this charge will gradually rise to 0.2% 5 years before retirement.

If you change your investment choice in the future or move into retirement income, the charges could change.

Let's see an example of how that could look

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Pot value

Imagine you've got
£50k in your account

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Service charge

A charge of 0.3% =
£150

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Investment charge

A charge of 0.1% =£50

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Total charge

0.4% total = £200 a year
Just under £17 a month

Why choose us?

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200 years’ experience

Our retirement partners, Scottish Widows, have more than 200 years’ experience and remain one of the UK’s largest pension providers. They’re also part of the same group as ourselves.

Defaqto Personal Pension Award 2023  Defaqto Drawdown Award 2023

Award-winning product

5-star product rating for Personal Pension and Drawdown from Defaqto*, an independent financial ratings agency.

*Source: Defaqto Annual Product Ratings - April 2023

Lloyds Bank Mobile Banking App
Keep track on the go

Keep track of the value of your pensions without leaving the Lloyds Bank Mobile Banking App. You can see at a glance how much your total pensions are worth – anytime, anywhere.

How do I open a Retirement Account?

To open a Retirement Account, you'll need to apply to transfer your old pension(s). Your new account number will automatically be set up once you apply.   

Our 4-step process will show you everything you need to know about how a transfer works. We’ll guide you through each step from checking if you're eligible and if it’s right for you, to what to expect after completing your application.

Find out how to transfer

Frequently asked questions

Investment guide

If you'd like to know more about how your money is invested in detail you can download the Investment guide (PDF, 1.2MB).

Don’t forget investments can go down as well as up.