Pension Access Age Rising to 57: What the Changes Mean and When They Take Effect

If you have been planning to access your pension at 55, you need to be aware of a legislated change that will affect a specific cohort of savers significantly. From 6 April 2028, the Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) — the earliest age at which most people can access their UK pension — rises from 55 to 57.

This is not a recent surprise. The change was announced in 2014 and legislated in the Finance Act 2022. However, it has not always filtered through to the retirement planning assumptions of our clients, particularly those who are internationally mobile or who have not reviewed their pension strategy recently.

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The Current Rules

Under current legislation, the NMPA is 55. This means that from the age of 55, most individuals with a defined contribution (DC) pension — whether a SIPP, workplace defined contribution scheme, or stakeholder pension — can access their pension in any way they choose under the pension freedoms introduced in 2015.

There are limited exceptions to the current 55 minimum:

• Serious ill health: you can access your pension at any age if you have a life expectancy of less than 12 months, subject to scheme rules.
• Protected pension ages: certain occupational pension schemes have a protected pension age that predates 2006, commonly 50.
• State Pension: the State Pension is not affected by the NMPA — it becomes payable at State Pension age (currently 66 for both men and women, rising to 67 by 2028).

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What Changes in April 2028

From 6 April 2028, the NMPA rises to 57. This is a two-year increase. The government's stated rationale was to align pension access age with increasing life expectancy and to encourage longer working lives — maintaining a roughly 10-year gap between the minimum pension age and the State Pension age.

The Finance Act 2022 confirmed the change in statute. There is no current proposal to further delay or reverse it.

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Who Is in the "Squeeze Zone"

The individuals most materially affected are those born between 4 April 1971 and 5 April 1973. These people will be aged between 55 and 57 on 6 April 2028, meaning:

• They would have been able to access their pension at 55 under the old rules.
• Under the new rules, they cannot access it until 57.
• This represents a delay of up to two years compared to what they had reasonably planned for.

Examples:

• Born 1 September 1971 (aged 56 in April 2028): will need to wait until September 2028 to access at 57.
• Born 15 March 1972 (aged 56 in April 2028): will need to wait until March 2029.
• Born 3 April 1973 (will turn 55 on 3 April 2028, before the change takes effect): may be able to access before the 6 April 2028 change, subject to scheme rules and timing.

The exact position for individuals right at the boundary requires careful analysis — scheme rules on when benefits crystallise, and the precise date access is requested, can affect which rules apply.

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Protected Pension Ages

Some members of occupational pension schemes have a protected pension age that allows them to access pension benefits earlier than the NMPA. This protection arose from scheme rules that allowed early access before A-Day in April 2006. Common protected pension ages are 50 (the most frequent) and others set by specific scheme rules.

The critical point about protected pension ages is that they are lost if you transfer your pension to a new scheme, unless that new scheme has a matching protection in place. This has significant implications for clients considering a transfer from an occupational scheme with protected pension age to a SIPP or a new employer's scheme.

If you believe your occupational scheme has a protected pension age, you should:

1. Confirm this with your scheme administrator in writing.
2. Understand whether the protection is individual or scheme-wide.
3. Take advice before any transfer, because transferring out will typically remove the protection permanently.

The 2028 NMPA change does not affect protected pension ages. If your scheme has a protected pension age of 50, you can still access it at 50 after 2028 — provided you remain in that scheme.

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The Interaction with State Pension Age

The State Pension age is currently 66 for both men and women. It is legislated to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and then to 68 between 2044 and 2046 (though the timetable for the rise to 68 is under periodic review).

The NMPA rise to 57 is deliberately calibrated to maintain roughly a 10-year gap between minimum pension access and State Pension age — the assumption being that individuals should not routinely deplete private pension savings too far in advance of State Pension entitlement.

For our clients who plan to retire at 55 or 56, the State Pension will not begin until a decade later. This means their private pension drawdown strategy needs to fund the bridging period, and the two-year delay to NMPA access affects the timing and amount available in those critical early years.

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SIPP vs Occupational Scheme: Does It Matter?

For the NMPA change, the distinction between a SIPP (personal pension) and an occupational (workplace) scheme matters primarily in the context of protected pension ages:

• SIPP holders are subject to the standard NMPA of 55 now, rising to 57 in 2028. There is no mechanism for a SIPP to have a protected pension age.
• Occupational scheme members may have a protected pension age if the scheme's rules pre-date 2006. This protection cannot be transferred to a SIPP.

For clients with a mix of SIPP and occupational pension assets, the optimal strategy in the run-up to 2028 may involve sequencing — using the occupational scheme's earlier access (if protected) before the SIPP, or vice versa depending on which fund is better positioned.

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Early Access Exceptions

After 2028, there remain limited circumstances in which pension access is possible before the NMPA of 57:

1. Serious ill health: as under current rules, terminal illness (life expectancy under 12 months) allows access at any age.
2. Protected pension age: as described above.
3. Dependants' and nominees' drawdown: beneficiaries who inherit drawdown funds are not subject to the NMPA in the same way — this is a death benefit, not a pension access trigger.

There is no exception based on early voluntary retirement, redundancy, or financial hardship. The NMPA is a firm legislative floor.

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The Expat Dimension

For clients living outside the UK, the NMPA applies equally. If you hold a UK SIPP or occupational pension and are resident in Spain, the UAE, Thailand, or elsewhere, you cannot access your UK pension before the NMPA — regardless of what your country of residence's own pension rules allow.

This becomes a planning issue where a client's country of residence allows access to local pensions at, say, 55, but the UK pension must be deferred until 57. The interaction with Double Taxation Agreements matters here too: withdrawal timing affects which country has the right to tax the pension income.

For clients considering a QROPS transfer, the QROPS rules have their own access age requirements — generally aligned with the NMPA, but this should be verified for your specific scheme and jurisdiction. See our guide on QROPS for UK expats for a full discussion.

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Planning Around the Change

For clients in the 1971–1973 birth cohort who had planned to access their pension at 55 or 56, the practical question is: how do you bridge the gap?

Options we regularly discuss include:

• ISA drawdown: ISA funds have no minimum access age. For clients with significant ISA balances, drawing from the ISA in the bridging years preserves the pension for later.
• Investment accounts: general investment account withdrawals, managed carefully for capital gains tax efficiency.
• Property income: rental income from buy-to-let or commercial property can provide bridging cashflow.
• Part-time or consulting income: some clients choose to maintain some earned income during the bridging period, reducing the need to draw on invested assets.
• Salary sacrifice restructuring: for those still employed, maximising pre-2028 pension contributions through salary sacrifice reduces the pension savings "missed" during the bridging period.

Every client's position is different, and the right bridging strategy depends on your asset mix, tax position, and personal plans. We model these scenarios as part of our retirement planning work.

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How Global Investments can help

The rise in the Normal Minimum Pension Age to 57 is one of the more concrete legislative changes affecting our clients in the near term — and it is one where the impact is concentrated on a relatively narrow birth cohort. If you were born between April 1971 and April 1973, or if you manage wealth for individuals in this group, the 2028 change should already be factored into your retirement income modelling.

Our advisers work with clients to map their pension access windows, identify any protected pension ages in occupational schemes, and build bridging strategies that maintain financial resilience in the years before the NMPA is reached. We also help clients who are considering transfers between schemes to understand whether they would lose a protected pension age as a result — a step that is very difficult to reverse. Please note that pension legislation can change; this guide reflects the position as of 2026 and does not constitute personal financial advice. Always seek guidance from a regulated financial adviser before making pension decisions.