Frequently Asked Questions

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Yes, a typical PensionBee customer will be invested in the PensionBee Personal Pension. Our money managers will keep these assets safe using global custodians, including:

• Bank of New York Mellon (BlackRock);
• State Street Bank (State Street Investment Management); and
• Citibank (Legal & General Investment Management).

The holdings in the PensionBee Personal Pension are structured as long-term insurance contracts. If our money managers collapse, we’ll contact the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If they accept our claim, they’ll cover 100% of the pension - with no upper cap. PensionBee will pursue compensation on behalf of our customers.

Information on the FSCS applicability to pensions and to PensionBee is available here.

At PensionBee, we take the security of our customers’ personal information very seriously. We take administrative, legal, technical and physical precautions to ensure the security of customer information, all in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”).

By entering their information into our system, our customers give us permission to use their information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Unlike other providers, we won’t charge customers extra fees for pension drawdown. If a customer’s pot has been with PensionBee for less than a year and they withdraw it in full, a full withdrawal fee of £150 will apply. This is issued, even if the value of their account is less than £150, at the point of withdrawal.

Are there any ad-hoc withdrawal fees?

No, there are no ad-hoc withdrawal fees for drawdown.

Is there a minimum withdrawal amount?

No, there’s no minimum withdrawal amount for drawdown.

Does the annual management charge when the customer is in drawdown?

No, the annual management charge doesn’t change at drawdown.

Customers can make one taxable cash withdrawal per tax month. Withdrawals must be paid into a UK bank account in the name and address of the customer (matching their PensionBee details). In addition, the bank must be directly regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). We’re unable to authorise payments to any bank accounts that don’t meet this criteria.

Can a regular monthly income be set up?

We’re currently testing this feature and it will be widely available soon.

Do customers need to move this existing plan to go into drawdown?

No, internal transfers aren’t required for drawdown.

What funds are available to customers once they’re in drawdown?

Our plans are available to all customers, regardless of drawdown status. These can be found on our Plans page.

When customers reach the age of 55 (rising to 57 in 2028) we give them two ways to withdraw money from their pension:

• take their pension through PensionBee’s flexi-access drawdown; and / or
• buy a pension annuity through our partner, Legal & General.

Are the small pot options available when encashing?

No, this feature isn’t available.

Can you take more than 25% protected tax-free cash?

No, we don’t offer more than 25% protected tax-free cash.

Does PensionBee offer the uncrystallised fund lump sum option?

No, we only offer flexi-access drawdown.

Based on current legislation, customers can access their pension from the age of 55 (this will rise to the age of 57 on 6 April 2028). We don’t offer customers any protected retirement age benefits with their pension. Once customers become eligible, our drawdown options get activated automatically. There’s no maximum age for customers to withdraw funds or their available tax-free cash.

What is the customer’s retirement date?

We assume a retirement age of 65 for all customers.

What if a customer dies?

On the death of a customer, we only support lump sum death benefits payments. Customers are able to add their preferred beneficiaries through their BeeHive.

There is no exit fee if a customer leaves PensionBee at any point. There’s also a 30-day cancellation policy. This means we’ll return a customer’s pensions to their old providers free of charge if they cancel within 30 days. Please note, this assumes the old provider is willing to take back their funds. You can find more information on our Fees page.

All our plans are liquid. We don’t currently have a property fund.

No, PensionBee transfers pensions on an individual basis and this isn’t part of a bulk or block transfer.

Yes, we do. Partial transfers are permitted, but 5% needs to be left in the pot. These should be requested by the receiving provider on Origo Options. There’s no minimum value that can be transferred out of the plan.

If a customer’s new provider uses Origo Options, they’ll need to request a transfer that way. They should search for ‘PensionBee’ to avoid delays. PensionBee aims to transfer to other eligible schemes within 14 days. Eligible pension schemes are Financial Conduct Authority regulated and The Pensions Regulator authorised.

If the provider isn’t using Origo Options, they’ll need to email us the transfer request which should include full receiving scheme details and their own transfer application forms signed by the customer. The contact email is transfersout@pensionbee.com. We’ll need to request further information if any details are missing. Our average transfer out time to other UK regulated providers is 10 days.

If sending us a Letter of Authority (LOA), please make sure it includes the following:

• PensionBee Policy Number;
• full legal name;
• date of birth;
• registered address;
• National Insurance number; and
• customer’s signature.*

*We accept electronic signatures.

The process of transferring a pension may take up to six months, as we may need to get information from third parties, such as HMRC. We’ll endeavour to complete this as soon as possible. We won’t usually need identification, though in some cases this may be required. We may decline a transfer out in order to meet our regulatory obligations.

For bid offer spread, we disclose what our money managers report under the requirements that apply to the products. They may or may not apply depending on the date of the trade as the fund manager aims to cross trades internally. The costs are on an annualised basis for each plan. Please see our Transaction Costs Disclosure for further information.

Our plans are also available to view on Morningstar.

Tracker Plan

MPF Balanced Index Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BD35QM61. View on Morningstar.

Global Leaders Plan

BlackRock Life Global Equity Large Cap Screened Index Fund. ISIN: GB00BRTCSJ05. View on Morningstar.

4Plus Plan

MPF Dynamic Diversified Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BG217453. View on Morningstar.

Preserve Plan

MPF Stlg Liquidity Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BWDBJF10. View on Morningstar.

Climate Plan

State Street All World Climate Paris Aligned ex-Fossil Fuel Index Equity Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BGGK1F77. View on Morningstar.

Shariah Plan

HSBC MPF Islamic Equity Index Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BF2SYC67. View on Morningstar. (This fund is life-wrapped by State Street MPF).

There are no fee waivers. There is a fee discount: we’ll halve the fee on the part of savings over £100,000. Fee rebates or reinvestment of charges are not applicable to PensionBee.

We don’t offer any special benefits with our defined contribution pension plans.

Do any of your plans have bonuses attached?

No, none of our plans have bonuses attached. We don’t offer any with-profits plans or protected tax-free cash.

Do any of your plans have life cover or accidental death cover attached?

No, our plans don’t have life cover or accidental death cover attached. We’ve never offered these types of plans in the past.

Do any of your plans have guaranteed annuity rates or other guarantees attached?

No, none of our plans have guarantees attached to them.

Do any of your plans have a protected pension age?

No, none of our plans have a protected pension age.

At PensionBee, we take care of customers’ pensions for one simple annual fee. You can find more information on our Fees page.

Are there any fees associated with a customer making contributions?

No, it’s free for customers to make contributions.

Do you charge an initial setup fee?

No, there is no initial setup fee.

Is there a fee for switching plans?

No, PensionBee doesn’t charge for plan switches.

Where can I find a fund breakdown?

All relevant information can be found via our plans page.

Annual costs vary by investment choice. Please see our Fees page for a full summary. Please note the quoted annual management costs include both fund and wrapper charges.

What are the transaction costs?

Our transaction costs disclosure for plans can be found on our website.

Yes, customers can switch between plans online under the ‘Plans’ section of their BeeHive.

Is there a limit on the number of plan switches per year?

No, there is no limit to the number of plan switches a customer can make.

Customers can only invest in one plan (or fund) at a time, as we don’t offer plan splitting. All our plans are unit linked and each plan is managed by either:

• BlackRock;
• HSBC; or
• State Street.

We’ve carefully selected a range of plans to meet various savings needs and customers can choose one of our plans to invest in. We offer diversified plans, meaning they invest across different countries and asset types (such as company shares and bonds). At PensionBee, one of our core values is simplicity so we do not currently offer customers the ability to invest in more than one plan at a time.

Please visit our Plans page for a full summary of all the options available.

Do your plans have multiple sections?

No, our plans don’t have multiple sections.

Are these funds illiquid or liquid?

All our investment plans are liquid.

What’s the Allocation Rate on PensionBee pensions?

The Allocation Rate on our pensions is 100%.

The pension input period runs in line with the tax year.

No, we don’t provide bespoke projections. Instead we produce pre-sales and post-sales illustrations as well as Annual Statements. We have a pension calculator available in the ‘Analytics’ section of the BeeHive, but results from our calculators shouldn’t be considered as an illustration.

The customer can find this information in their first Annual Statement. This can be found under the ‘My plan’ section of their BeeHive, while the ‘Balance‘ section shows a full transaction history back to the start of the plan.

Yes, this can be found under the ‘Balance’ section of the BeeHive. The ‘Balance’ section logs both historic and pending transactions, including:

• contributions;
• financial rewards (such as our refer a friend scheme);
• HMRC tax relief;
• pension transfers; and
• withdrawals.

The customer is able to find this by accessing the ‘Balance‘ section of their BeeHive. The ‘fund value’ and ‘transfer fund value’ are the same.

PensionBee is set up to give information to financial advisors who are regulated by the FCA. We’ll provide information only in response to a valid ‘Letter of Authority’. As our systems are highly automated, we can’t support an ongoing third-party from a compliance standpoint or guarantee that our level of service or communication will be the same.

If sending us a Letter of Authority (LOA), please make sure it includes:

• PensionBee Policy Number;
• full legal name;
• date of birth;
• registered address;
• National Insurance number; and
• customer’s signature.*

*We accept electronic signatures.

We’re looking into accommodating third parties, but we aren’t set up to do this yet. We don’t work with non-FCA regulated UK or overseas firms.

No, PensionBee is an execution-only pension provider. We don’t support adviser charging.

The BeeHive is the customer’s online account and is accessible via our website and app. BeeHive features include: live pension balance, easy bank transfer contributions, and more. A BeeKeeper is the customer’s dedicated account manager. A Nectar Collector is the pension administrator.

PensionBee offers a defined contribution money purchase personal pension and allows the customer to select their own plan from a range of investments. Our money managers include BlackRock, HSBC and State Street. PensionBee doesn’t provide financial advice or recommendations.

The PensionBee Personal Pension is governed by a Trust Deed and Rules. PensionBee Limited is the administrator of the scheme and PensionBee Trustees Limited are the trustees. You can find out more in our key literature, such as our Terms and Conditions and Key Features Document.

There's no longer a different State Pension age for men and women. Both will either reach the State Pension age at 66 or 67/68, depending on when they were born.

You won't automatically receive your State Pension, you'll need to claim it online, by phone or by post.

You should receive a letter in the post three months ahead of reaching your State Pension age. You can also claim your State Pension over the phone up to four months before you reach State Pension age.

You can contact the Pension Service to find out about your State Pension eligibility, claims and payments online, over the phone or by post. You may be able to claim backdated National Insurance credits for missing years to give your State Pension a boost.

The State Pension age depends on when you were born. Use our calculator above to find out what your State Pension age is.

If you've never worked, and therefore have never paid National Insurance contributions, you may still be eligible for a State Pension if you've received certain state benefits like Universal Credit or a carer's allowance.

The State Pension's a regular payment you receive from the government once you reach your State Pension age to help fund your life in retirement.

To receive the full State Pension payment, you must have paid 35 years' worth of National Insurance contributions over your working life. To receive the minimum State Pension, you must have paid 10 years' worth of contributions.

It should be noted that the State Pension is not enough to cover even the minimum lifestyle reported by the PLSA and most people are predicted to achieve the minimum standard through a combination of the State Pension and other private or workplace pensions.

There's no longer a special State Pension arrangement for married couples. Each person will receive their own State Pension entitlement individually.

You'll receive the State Pension once you reach your State Pension age. For people born before 5 April 1960, their State Pension age is 66. For everyone born after this date, their State Pension age is increasing to 67 and will eventually increase to 68.

The full New State Pension for 2025/26 is £11,973 per year which is equivalent to £230.25 a week. The basic State Pension is £9,175 per year, equivalent to £176.45 per week.

For many people, an annual retirement income that’s two-thirds of their current salary is a reasonable amount to retire on. This means that if your annual salary is currently £35,000, then just over £23,000 per year would give you a sensible retirement income. You can also refer to the Retirement Living Standards from the PLSA for guidance.

If you’re likely to be eligible for the Full State Pension, you’d currently receive £11,973 per year (2025/26). This should be factored into the total value of your pension pot. Currently, all savers can claim their State Pension from the age of 66. However, this is set to increase to 67 by 2028.

To find out more about how much value existing workplace and personal pensions could generate in retirement, you can explore our Pension Calculator, which also allows you to take the State Pension into account.

Pensions aren’t immune from the effects of inflation, both when you’re saving into your pension and when it comes to drawing down in retirement. The money paid into your pension is invested in different asset classes and their value can decrease as well as increase over time. However, for each year that your pension is eroded by inflation, its potential for growth is impacted. For example, if your pension pot value grew by 5%, but inflation was at 2.5%, ultimately your pension would have grown by just 2.5%.

When it comes to retirement, you’ll want to be supported by your pension for as long as possible. The impact of inflation on your pension will depend upon how much you’ve saved, and how you plan to access your money.

As a long-term investment, intermittent ups and downs don’t usually have a lasting impact on pensions as most savers will have plenty of time to ride out these bumps, and benefit from the long-term growth opportunities. But for those closer to retirement, a pension has less time to recover from these losses. This is why it’s important that savers take a balanced approach when looking at how best to protect lifetime savings.

When using our Inflation Calculator, you’ll notice that we’ve included an assumed annual rate of inflation of 2.5% in your pension projection. 2.5% is the assumed annual rate of inflation used by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Though inflation rates will fluctuate year to year, over time they will generally stabilise. A period of inflation may be followed by a period of deflation, when prices decrease and purchasing power increases, such as in 2009 when the UK experienced its first fall in prices in nearly 50 years. A projected annual inflation rate of 2.5% means that the purchasing power of your pension pot reduces by 2.5% each year until you retire. By factoring in this rate of inflation, the projected value of your pension at retirement is shown in real terms and in accordance with the number of years you’ve got left to save. In other words, how much your projected pension amount would be worth today.

1. Demand-pull effect – this is when an increase in spending power increases the demand for goods and/or services. This increase in demand then leads to a rise in price.

2. Cost-push effect – when production costs increase, there’s a need to increase the total price of the goods being sold.

3. Built-in inflation – this type of inflation occurs when the natural rise of costs is reflected by a rise in salary or wages. An increase in wages means someone can purchase more with their money, and the cycle continues.

LifeSearch started back in 1998 when its founder believed insurers put their own needs above the needs of the customer. It’s grown its business on a mission of doing right by the customer since day one.

LifeSearch’s here to help. The team’s job is to know the market and advise you on the policies that are best suited to your needs.

But there’s no obligation, no selling. You’re in control.

With LifeSearch you can search online, or speak with an expert adviser today.

It’s basically a tax on a deceased person’s estate (it’s the total of property, savings and other personal belongings minus debts and expenses). The magic number in the UK right now is £325,000 for 2023/2024. If the estate’s worth less than that, no tax will be due. But every £1 above that £325,000 threshold is subject to a 40% inheritance tax. The threshold is higher for married couples and can be up to £650,000.

Most life insurance and critical illness insurance pay-outs are usually made free from income tax or capital gains tax. However, payouts may still be subject to inheritance tax.

Upon the death of a policyholder, any payouts will form part of the deceased’s estate. If the total value of the estate exceeds the inheritance tax threshold, then inheritance tax will be deducted from the payout before it’s passed on to the beneficiary named on the policy.

One way to avoid paying inheritance tax on life insurance payouts is by putting it into a trust. This should lock it outside of the probate process and your loved ones should start receiving payments more quickly.

A trust can also help reduce, or in some circumstances, prevent inheritance tax fees - up to a certain amount. See below for further information.

A LifeSearch expert can tell you more about putting your policy in trust and put you in touch with your insurer when you’re ready.

In 2020, life insurance claims were paid out in over 97% of cases, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). When claims aren’t paid, it’s usually because the policyholder gave inaccurate, or even dishonest, information when describing their health or lifestyle.

Whilst you won’t be around to see your life insurance claim when you die, LifeSearch can support your family in making a claim.

LifeSearch was one of the first UK intermediaries to set up a dedicated claims team, and today it’s a well-oiled machine. The team helps you with the paperwork and liaises with the insurer so your loved ones don’t have to.

They’ll keep the relevant people updated on any progress as LifeSearch aims to resolve claims and unlock payouts as quickly as possible.

In days past, having a medical condition could be a blocker to getting life cover. That’s much less the case now.

Whether your medical condition will increase your premium depends on what type of condition it is, how serious it is, and your general health otherwise.

At one end of the scale, if you have asthma but you control it well and haven’t had an attack in a specified period of time, it probably won’t raise your premiums much, if at all. At the other end, a serious heart condition could push your premiums up or could make finding cover more challenging.

But the important thing is to try. There are dozens of mechanisms in place to get cover for people who have health issues. The life insurance industry’s much more understanding of conditions such as HIV, diabetes, and heart and lung issues. Some specialist insurers base their whole business on covering people with health challenges.

There are options. Speak with an expert adviser about it today to find out more.

A single policy’s simple. It’s where you’re the only policyholder and, when you die, the money goes to your beneficiaries if you have life insurance cover or if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness a lump sum can be paid out to you.

Joint life insurance’s different. It’s kind of like a two-in-one life insurance policy, so it’s usually more affordable than two single policies.

A joint policy will only pay out once, however, so if Partner A dies the lump sum is paid to Partner B and that’s the end of the policy. Partner B will have to take out another policy if they’re to protect themselves again.

You can link your life insurance policy to the cost of living, so it holds the same buying power over time.

For example, £100,000 represents significant buying power today but due to inflation and rising living costs, it won’t have the same buying power in 10, 15 or 20 years. Indexation ensures your pay-out keeps the same value, or buying power, over time, but your monthly premiums will increase too.

Our mission is to help make pensions simple so that everyone can look forward to a happy retirement. Finding the right life cover can help you save towards your retirement more confidently knowing you and your loved ones are protected should life throw the unexpected at you, such as being unable to work due to injury, being diagnosed with a critical illness or you pass away.

Upon your death your pension will usually go to your beneficiaries, however, its value may not be enough to cover any outstanding costs you leave behind which your family may be financially reliant on you for, such as mortgage payments. So, whilst a pension will help meet your costs in retirement, life insurance can help protect your loved ones from facing financial difficulties should you pass away unexpectedly.

We’ve partnered with LifeSearch so you can help protect the most important people in your life, providing peace of mind should the unexpected happen.

If you use the LifeSearch service following a PensionBee referral, we’ll make a commission after you buy a product, however, this doesn’t have any impact on the cost of the product to you. LifeSearch’s service is fee-free for you to use, and you’ll get the same or a better deal than going direct.

Drawdown comes with a number of pros and cons, and it isn't the right option for everyone. Watch our video explainer to see whether it's the right choice for you.

We have assumed you have not started accessing your pension yet and are over the age of 55. In accordance with HMRC guidelines we apply an emergency 'Month 1' tax code. This means you only get one twelfth of the available tax allowances, which may result in you being overtaxed or undertaxed in this illustration. We have assumed that you are not subject to our early withdrawal fee of £150, which applies when your pot has been with PensionBee for less than a year and you wish to withdraw it in full.

The Drawdown Calculator applies an emergency tax code. We'll always apply an emergency tax rate on withdrawals until we receive your tax code from HMRC directly, so please bear this in mind before you start planning drawdown with PensionBee. It's possible that you'll overpay tax, and in this instance you should contact HMRC directly to claim your money back. You might also underpay, and in this case HMRC will adjust your tax code or contact you to make up the difference. To discover more about tax rates and how they can impact on your withdrawal, watch our video explainer on drawdown tax.

1. Enter your pension balance. We can only calculate for pensions that have not yet been accessed, so please bear this in mind when entering your balance.

2. Check the tax-free cash available. Under current legislation you can take up to 25% of your pension tax-free, as a lump sum or in portions.

3. Tell us how much tax-free and taxable cash you would like to take.

4. Check the calculations to see how much tax you'll pay and the amount you can expect to receive.

Many people aim for a retirement income that’s two thirds of their current salary. For example, if your annual salary is currently £30,000, then £20,000 per year would give you a reasonable retirement income. If you’re likely to be eligible for the Full new State Pension (currently £11,502 per year) then you’ll find an option to include this within the Pension Calculator.

Research shows that if the increase in life expectancy continues through the 21st century, most babies born since 2000 in the UK will celebrate their 100th birthdays. With life expectancies steadily increasing like this we have chosen an average of 100 years, as we want to ensure all our savers have sufficient funds during retirement.

We've assumed that you'll be eligible for the Full new State Pension of £11,502 per year, and that the State Pension will provide the same value upon your retirement. We'll factor this annual amount into your current projection and target retirement income. We have set a State Pension age of 67, in line with the government’s plans to move it to this age by 2028.

Pension withdrawal, also known as drawdown, becomes an option as soon as you reach the age of 55 (rising to 57 from 2028). At this point you can take up to 25% of your pension tax-free - as a lump sum or in portions. In the Pension Calculator it’s assumed that you’ll take your entire 25% tax-free amount, unless you push this toggle off. Taking a tax-free amount will only impact your current projection.

Most UK taxpayers get tax relief on pension contributions. If you're a basic rate taxpayer, when you pay a personal contribution into your pension you'll receive a 25% tax top up from HMRC. This means that for every £100 you contribute PensionBee will add another £25 from HMRC, making it £125. If you're a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer, you may be able to claim more tax back through your Self-Assessment.

If you’d like to calculate how much tax relief you could get on your pension contributions, use our Pension Tax Relief Calculator.
In contrast, if you choose to make an employer contribution through a limited company, it'll usually count as an allowable business expense.

Employer contributions aren't "topped up" by tax relief, but your contribution can be offset against your company's corporation tax bill.

You can read an in-depth overview of the distinctions between personal and employer contributions here.

When using our Pension Calculator, you will note that we have included an assumed annual rate of inflation of 2.5% in your pension projection. Inflation is the rate at which the cost of everyday things like food, transport and electricity increases over time. We have used 2.5% as this is the assumed annual rate of inflation used by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

A projected annual inflation rate of 2.5% means the purchasing power of your pension reduces by 2.5% each year until your target retirement age. By factoring in this rate of inflation, the projected value of your pension at retirement is shown in real terms. In other words, how much your projected pension amount would be worth today.

If you’d like to better understand how far your savings will go in retirement, use our Inflation Calculator to find out how your pension could be impacted.

The solid yellow line indicates your current projection, which assumes investment growth of 5% every year. The light yellow area either side of this indicates the high or low growth your investments, with our low growth assumptions anticipating growth of 3% every year and our high growth assumptions anticipating growth of 8% every year.

We've also assumed inflation of 2.5% per year and one annual management fee of 0.7% taken from your pension each year. When using the personal monthly or one-off contribution sliders, your projection will include the 25% tax top up from HMRC.

Higher and additional rate taxpayers can claim a further 25% and 31% respectively through their Self-Assessment tax returns. This is relevant to tax rates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For Scotland there are different applicable rates which you can read more about on the HMRC website. It may be necessary to register for Self-Assessment first if you’ve never filled out a tax return before. Once registered, you can submit returns for the previous tax year from 6 April each year. For example, from 6 April 2025, you’ll be able to file a tax return for your earnings from 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025. The deadline to submit a return online is 31 January the following year. You can call or write to HMRC to claim it if you don’t fill in a Self-Assessment tax return.

Yes, as long as you’re still classified as a ‘relevant UK individual’*.

To be a relevant UK individual, you’ll need to be in at least one of the following categories:

• You are/were a UK resident for tax purposes at some point during the current tax year.
• You are/were a UK resident for tax purposes at some point during the last five tax years, and when signing up to PensionBee.
• You have a spouse/civil partner with general earnings from overseas Crown employment, subject to UK tax.
• You have ‘relevant UK earnings’**, subject to income tax.

*If you’re not classified as a relevant UK individual, you won’t be able to claim tax relief.

**Relevant UK earnings are normally your total taxable earnings from UK-based work. This includes earnings from employment, self-employment and bonuses. It generally doesn’t include any investment income.

Yes, for customers over the age of 55 (expected to rise to 57 in 2028), PensionBee offers the ability to be completely flexible with your drawdown. It’s important to consider the pension “recycling rules” if you intend on making pension contributions following a withdrawal. Pension recycling is where an individual reinvests either their tax-free cash or pension income back into a pension scheme and may be subject to tax penalties.

If you’re a registered tax payer, you won’t have to pay tax on your pension contributions (up to a limit). This is known as tax relief.

The amount of tax relief you receive is dependent on the amount of income tax you pay. For most people, it’s 20%.

This means that for every £100 you contribute to your pension, £20 of that is claimed back as tax relief. In effect, you only have to pay in £80 for every £100 that lands in your pension.

Here’s another way to think of it... for every £80 you personally contribute to your pension, the government tops it up by £20. In effect, you receive a 25% tax top up.

So whether you view it as 20% tax relief or a 25% tax top up, the result is the same.

To be eligible for tax relief, you must be under the age of 75 and classed as a ‘relevant UK individual’.

To be a relevant UK individual, you’ll need to be in at least one of the following categories:

• You are/were a UK resident for tax purposes at some point during the current tax year.
• You are/were a UK resident for tax purposes at some point during the last five tax years, and when signing up to PensionBee.
• You have a spouse/civil partner with general earnings from overseas Crown employment, subject to UK tax.
• You have ‘relevant UK earnings’*, subject to income tax.

*Relevant UK earnings are normally your total taxable earnings from UK-based work. This includes earnings from employment, self-employment and bonuses. It generally doesn’t include any investment income.

You are generally unable to claim tax relief on contributions above your relevant earnings. If you earn less than £3,600 annually or don’t earn anything, the maximum amount you can contribute to your pension whilst receiving tax relief is £2,880 net, bringing your total annual contribution to £3,600 gross once tax relief is added.

Yes. A typical PensionBee customer will be invested in the PensionBee Personal Pension. Our money managers will keep these assets safe using global custodians. This includes:

• Bank of New York Mellon (BlackRock); and
• State Street Bank (State Street).

The holdings in the PensionBee Personal Pension are structured as long-term insurance contracts. If our money managers collapse, we’ll contact the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If they accept our claim, they’ll cover 100% of the pension - with no upper cap. PensionBee will pursue compensation on your behalf.

Information on the FSCS applicability to pensions and to PensionBee is available here.

At PensionBee, we take the security of your personal information very seriously. We take various administrative, legal, technical and physical precautions. This ensures the security of your information, all in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation ('UK GDPR'). By entering your information into our system, you give us permission to use your information in line with our Privacy Policy.

Yes, PensionBee’s authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FRN: 744931). You can see this in the Financial Conduct Authority’s register.

The transfer out process begins when your new provider sends us all of the required information to complete your transfer out. We’ll send you a confirmation email too. From this point, PensionBee aims to transfer to most other Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated personal pension companies on Origo Options within 14 days. The majority of the industry has subscribed to this electronic transfer service.

Due to the threat of pension scams, which include fraudulent companies and also pension liberators who promise to release monies in your pension before the age of 55 (rising to 57 from 2028) while avoiding heavy tax charges, other transfers may take longer and we’re required by the regulators to perform additional due diligence checks.

This process may be dependent on obtaining important information from third parties (such as HMRC). Whilst this could take up to six months (the legal deadline for pension transfers) we’ll endeavour to complete this as soon as possible. It’s important for us to complete our diligence, as otherwise, you and we may be subject to onerous tax charges from HMRC. We may decline a transfer out to meet our regulatory obligations.

There’s no exit fee if you leave PensionBee at any point. There’s also a 30 day cancellation policy, which means we’ll return your pensions to your old providers (assuming they’re also willing to take them back), free of charge if you cancel your PensionBee plan within 30 days of opening it. You can find more information on our Fees page.

If your provider is using Origo Options, they’ll need to request a transfer through the electronic system. Please ask them to search for PensionBee in order to avoid delays. If your provider isn’t using Origo Options, they’ll need to email their completed transfer-in forms to transfersout@pensionbee.com. If these forms aren’t complete, it’s likely we’ll require further information to initiate a transfer.

We’ll send you a confirmation email to let you know when we’ve received your new provider’s completed forms. PensionBee can only transfer out to UK based, HMRC registered pension schemes. If you’re planning on moving abroad, and taking your pension with you, please read our article, Overseas pension transfers, for more information.

Yes. You can choose to cancel any individual pensions that haven’t started transferring in the BeeHive. We’ll send your pension back to your provider for up to 30 days after the transfer, as long as they agree to accept it. If you’d like to close your account overall, please email your dedicated account manager (known as your 'BeeKeeper'). You can also transfer your PensionBee pension to a new provider and we won’t charge you an exit fee.

While the answer’s generally yes, there are a few things you need to be aware of before making the decision to transfer a pension in drawdown.

If your current pension’s in Capped Drawdown, it’ll be converted to Flexi-Access Drawdown. Flexibly accessing your pension after converting would result in you becoming subject to the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA).

Also you must transfer the entire value of a pot in drawdown because HMRC doesn’t allow splitting crystallised funds.

If your current drawdown product is giving you a regular monthly income, please note that this isn’t a feature we accommodate at the moment - you’ll need to make a new request each time you want to draw down part of your pension.

Please note, we can’t currently accept beneficiaries drawdown from other providers. If a customer passes away whilst with us, the accepted beneficiaries will receive the inherited pension as a lump sum death benefit.

We understand that losing a loved one is a challenging time, so each claim will be handled by a specialist Compliance Manager at PensionBee. To notify PensionBee about the passing of a customer, the next of kin or executor of the estate should get in touch with us. If they need to notify us, they can call us as a first step. If they’re unable to call, they can send us an email.

For security reasons and to locate the customer’s account, they’ll need to provide the following:

• full legal name;
• date of birth;
• National Insurance number; and
• current address.

Once we receive this information, we’ll update our records to reflect the bereavement. We’ll also send a form that needs to be filled out and returned to us.

To begin the review of any death benefits that may be payable from the customer’s plan, the form must be completed in full and returned along with the final death certificate and any other relevant supporting documents. The Compliance Manager will confirm any further requirements upon return of the form and provide guidance on next steps.

We can’t provide a definite time frame for the completion of our review, approval of beneficiaries and associated payments. This is because the process involves multiple parties and we rely on third parties for certain aspects of it. The final decision regarding who any death benefits will be paid to lies with us as scheme administrator and trustee.

You can take up to 25% of your pension pot tax-free, either as a lump sum or as a portion of each withdrawal. The remaining 75% of your pension pot is subject to Income Tax. When you withdraw a taxable lump-sum from your pension, an emergency tax rate will be charged until your individual tax code is received from HMRC directly.

As pension tax works in the same way as Income Tax, your pension provider will use the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system to deduct any tax due before you receive your payment. For payments processed using an emergency tax code, under PAYE, any payments you receive will be treated as though they’re a regular salary or monthly income.

It’s important to understand how this impacts your pension plan. You can use our Pension Drawdown Calculator to estimate how much tax you’ll pay and how much you’ll have left in your pension pot. MoneyHelper and Pension Wise offer free impartial financial guidance. They can help you understand your options and make the best decision for your individual circumstances.

How can I get back emergency tax?

You may be able to reclaim emergency tax on your withdrawals by contacting HMRC directly, and completing a tax claim form. Please keep the payslip we issue when you make a withdrawal in a safe place, and refer to it when contacting HMRC. If you’re still feeling unsure, you can watch our video on How does pension drawdown tax work? on YouTube.

If withdrawal requests are made before 12pm on a working day, we’ll aim to make a trade request on that particular day. Requests made after 12pm may be processed the following working day. As long as there are no issues verifying your bank details, it should take around 10 working days for you to receive your money.

There’s no forms to sign as everything is done digitally, including your emergency tax payment to HMRC. Once the payment has cleared, your withdrawal will show as a ‘Withdrawal’ in the ‘Balance’ tab in your online account (known as your 'BeeHive'). If you’re still feeling unsure, you can watch our Pensions 101 video on How to take your pension on YouTube.

A pension annuity’s a financial product that pays you a guaranteed income for a fixed period or for the rest of your life. When you retire, you can choose to use some or all of your pension savings to buy an annuity.

We have a partnership with Legal & General to enable PensionBee customers to use their pension balance with us to purchase a pension annuity via Legal & General. Just go to our Pension Annuity landing page to find out more.

We do earn a referral fee of 1.25% of the total money used to purchase a pension annuity from Legal & General, however this doesn’t impact the annuity you’ll receive. If you’re still feeling unsure, you can watch our Pensions 101 video on what an annuity is on YouTube.

Accessing your pension is straightforward and our app allows you to withdraw with ease when you reach 55 (rising to 57 from 2028). You can take up to 25% as a tax-free lump sum (or multiple lump sums), and leave the rest invested. Once you become eligible, our drawdown option gets activated automatically.

Before withdrawing money from your pension, we’ll ask you to confirm that you’re happy to go ahead with the withdrawal and have considered taking advice. You might be asked to complete a Facial Similarity Check (FSC) for a number of reasons. These requests are always made during your first withdrawal request.

To carry out a Facial Similarity Check, we’ve partnered with Onfido to provide our customers with a convenient and secure way to verify their identities. You’ll need to have a smartphone or tablet with a camera to take a selfie. Plus you’ll need to upload a copy of one of the following:

• passport;
• driver’s licence, or provisional driver’s licence; or
• national identity card.

Does it cost to withdraw money?

Unlike other providers we won’t charge you extra fees for drawing down your pension. However, if your pot has been with PensionBee for less than a year and you wish to withdraw it in full, then a full withdrawal fee of £150 applies. Including if the value of your account’s less than £150 at the point of withdrawal.

What type of account am I able to withdraw money into?

You can make one taxable cash withdrawal per tax month. Withdrawals must be paid into a UK bank account in the name and address of the customer (matching their PensionBee details). In addition, the bank must be directly regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). We’re unable to authorise payments to any bank accounts that don’t meet this criteria.

Our app is only available in the UK App Store and Google Play Store at the moment. If you’re in the US and have a UK account with us, you can access your PensionBee account (known as your 'BeeHive') on our UK website only. If you want to join PensionBee US, you can sign up via our US website.

PensionBee’s an active Non-Financial Foreign Entity as we don’t hold client money. There’s an agreement between the UK and the US that there is no reporting requirement for HMRC-registered pension schemes that are generally exempt from Income tTax and established to provide an income in retirement. The contracts with the investment managers are directly with PensionBee and not with the customers, therefore the investment managers also don’t need to report on US end-clients.

It’s OK if you don’t have a UK address at the moment, but you’ll need to tell us your previous UK address when you sign up. Please be aware that we use emails wherever possible and don’t send our customers letters unless we really have to (e.g. your old provider demands a physical copy of your signature on one of our letters).

After you’ve signed up, you can request that we update your address by calling us on 020 3457 8444, and we can amend this using a bank statement or utility bill. It must be:

• from the country that you now reside in;
• translated into English, if originally in another language; and
• dated within the last three months.

Please note: we won’t be able to register you with an overseas address until you’ve left the UK.

You now have the choice of what you’d like to do with your pension if you move abroad.

This means you can choose to leave your pension where it is, and you can even continue to pay into your UK pension plan. There may be a limit to the amount of tax relief you can claim though, so you should look into this more if you’re thinking of continuing payments.

Alternatively, you may be able to transfer your pension to a Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (ROPS). Get in touch with your BeeKeeper if you wish to request the transfer so that we can confirm initial requirements. Please be aware, we review each request on a case-by-case basis and there are extensive checks required under HMRC’s transfer regulation rules.

As long as you’re still classified as a ‘relevant UK individual’, you can keep paying into your PensionBee pension. If you’re not classified as a relevant UK individual, you won’t be able to contribute. To be a relevant UK individual, you’ll need to be in at least one of the following categories:

• you’re/were a UK resident for tax purposes at some point during the current tax year;
• you’re/were a UK resident for tax purposes at some point during the last five tax years, and when signing up to PensionBee;
• you’ve a spouse/civil partner with general earnings from overseas Crown employment, subject to UK tax; or
• you have ‘relevant UK earnings’†, subject to Income Tax.

If you’re unsure, speak to a specialist tax advisor to better understand your situation.

†Relevant UK earnings are normally your total taxable earnings from UK-based work. This includes earnings from employment, self-employment and bonuses. It generally doesn’t include any investment income.

Withdrawals must be paid into a UK bank account in the name and address of the customer (matching their PensionBee details). In addition, the bank must be directly regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). We’re unable to authorise payments to any bank accounts that don’t meet this criteria. If you don’t hold a UK bank account that meets these criteria, then you can’t make any withdrawals from your PensionBee pension and you’ll need to transfer to another FCA-regulated, UK-based pension scheme in order to access it.

No, unfortunately we can’t transfer a pension from outside the UK into your PensionBee plan. This restriction includes pensions from the Isle of Man, Jersey, the Channel Islands, and the Republic of Ireland.

It’s standard industry practice that plan switches have small transaction costs associated with them, both at PensionBee and all other pension providers. PensionBee does not any make money from these switching costs.

These costs, also known as an 'anti-dilution levy', are designed to protect existing investors from switching activity into or out of their fund. The subscription (when you buy units) and redemption (when you sell units) fund spreads are based on market conditions on the day of the switch.

These costs are an unavoidable feature of the market when moving money between different funds and there to ensure existing investors are not negatively impacted by the switching activity of others.

When you have a live PensionBee balance, either from making a contribution or transferring your first pension over, we’ll automatically invest your funds depending on your age (unless you sign up from a plan specific page - for example, the Climate Plan):

• under 50s will be invested in our Global Leaders Plan designed for the ‘accumulation’ (or growth) years; and
• over 50s will be invested in our 4Plus Plan designed for the ‘decumulation’ (or withdrawal) years.

Once your online account (known as your 'BeeHive') set up is complete, you’ll be able to immediately switch to a different plan by going to ‘View or change your plan’. If your pension transfer has already been completed, you’ll be able to switch plans at any time by going to ‘Account’ and choosing ‘Switch plans’.

Does PensionBee charge a fee to change my plan?

No, we don’t charge any fees to change your plan but there may be small transaction costs associated with switching, to protect other investors in the fund. These are charged by money managers and PensionBee does not make any money from them.

How long does switching plans take?

This process can take up to 12 working days. A plan switch involves the disinvestment and reinvestment of cash, with funds being out of markets for a short period of time. Plan switches are a business-as-usual activity for our money managers.

Why has my balance changed after switching plans?

Whilst your switch takes place your investment is sold to cash and your balance is frozen. However, the market can still move up or down during this time, meaning when funds are reinvested they could be worth more or less than when they were sold. This will be reflected in your new balance once the switch has completed. It’s not possible to time switches or predict market movement.

PensionBee allows you to select your own investment plan from a range of investments managed for you by one of our money managers (BlackRock for example). We’ve partnered with some of the world’s biggest money managers to provide our investment choices, so no matter which of our pension plans you choose, you can rest assured that your money’s in experienced hands.

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You can find more information on our Plans page.

We don’t charge you any fees to transfer your pensions to PensionBee. There’s just one single annual fee, which is calculated based on the daily value of your PensionBee plan. For pensions under £100,000 you’ll pay one annual fee of 0.50 - 0.95%, depending on which plan you choose. If your pot size is larger than £100,000 we’ll halve the fee on the portion of your savings over this amount.

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You can find more information on our Fees page.

Our plans are also available to view on Morningstar.

Tracker Plan

MPF Balanced Index Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BD35QM61. View on Morningstar.

Global Leaders Plan

BlackRock Life Global Equity Large Cap Screened Index Fund. ISIN: GB00BRTCSJ05. View on Morningstar.

4Plus Plan

MPF Dynamic Diversified Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BG217453. View on Morningstar.

Preserve Plan

MPF Stlg Liquidity Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BWDBJF10. View on Morningstar.

Climate Plan

State Street All World Climate Paris Aligned ex-Fossil Fuel Index Equity Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BGGK1F77. View on Morningstar.

Shariah Plan

HSBC MPF Islamic Equity Index Sub-Fund. ISIN: GB00BF2SYC67. View on Morningstar. (This fund is life-wrapped by State Street MPF).

We’ve carefully curated a range of diverse plans to meet a wide range of needs. So whether you’re looking for a higher-risk or lower-risk plan, a plan that can help build a better world such as the Climate Plan or a specialist Shariah Plan, the choice is yours.

We’re also committed to ensuring that our plans meet the changing expectations of our customers and regularly seek their views. If you don’t want to choose one straight away, we’ll automatically invest you in one of our two default options depending on your age. Our Global Leaders Plan is our default for those under 50 with our 4Plus Plan the default option for those 50 or over.

Remember, PensionBee’s an execution-only service, which means we don’t provide financial advice and can’t advise you on which plan to pick.

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At PensionBee we only offer UK-based, FCA-regulated institutional life-wrapped funds (i.e. with the highest levels of governance). Most UK pensions have exposure to international markets, like the US, but that does not mean they are 'overseas' investments as per the definitions used by the DWP in the flag rules.

You can find more information on our Plans page.

To make changes or cancel your contribution, you’ll need to edit your contribution in your own banking app. If you have a Direct Debit or Standing Order set up and would like to change it, it’s likely you’ll need to cancel it and start a new one. If you cancel your contribution, you’ll also need to log into your online account (known as your 'BeeHive') afterwards to confirm you’ve cancelled it. Once a payment has been paid into your pension, it can’t be refunded due to HMRC rules.

If you want to amend the amount or regularity of your contribution, you can do so without informing us. If you’re still feeling unsure, you can watch our step-by-step guide on ‘How to change an existing contribution‘ on YouTube.

If you’re a sole trader, you can only make a personal contribution. If you’re the director of a limited company, you can make limited company contributions into your pension, as well as personal contributions, via your online account (known as your 'BeeHive').

If you’re making a limited company contribution, the money needs to come from your business account. If you want to make a personal contribution, the payment needs to come from your personal account.

IR35 impact

IR35 is a complex bit of legislation that determines a contractor’s tax liabilities. The amount of tax you need to pay on pension contributions doesn’t change if you’re inside IR35. The £60,000 annual pension allowance is unaffected. If you find that your take-home income decreases as a result of IR35, you may be able to minimise your tax liabilities by increasing your pension contributions.

How long it takes to process your contribution differs, depending on whether you set up an Easy bank transfer or a standing order. Once money clears in our bank account, your contribution will show as a ‘Personal contribution’ in the balance tab in your online account (known as your 'BeeHive').

Easy bank transfer contributions

When using Easy bank transfer, your funds will typically arrive instantly though could take longer in some instances. It’ll take up to five working days for our money managers to invest your funds into your pension.

Regular bank transfer contributions

Depending on your bank, setting up a regular bank transfer can take different amounts of time. Once the payment has left your account, it can take around eight working days for your funds to show as ‘live’ in your account. This includes the time taken for your funds to arrive in our account and be reconciled which is two to three working days, plus five working days for our money managers to invest your funds into your pension.

Pensions are a tax-efficient product for retirement saving. For the 2025/26 tax year, most eligible savers can get tax relief on individual pension contributions and contributions paid on your behalf by anybody other than your employer up to the higher of £3,600 gross a tax year or 100% of relevant UK earnings. This is limited by the annual allowance (£60,000 in 2025/26).

If you’re making a personal contribution and you’re eligible for tax relief, you’ll receive a 25% tax top-up. For every £100 you put into your PensionBee pension, the government will add another £25 making it £125. We’ll automatically claim your 25% tax top up and add it to your balance.

If you earn less than £3,600, or you don’t earn anything at all, you’re still allowed to receive tax relief on pension contributions up to £3,600 gross. That means you can save up to £2,880 net plus a 25% tax top up from HMRC.

PensionBee only accepts personal contributions that are eligible for tax relief. If you’re a higher or additional rate taxpayer, you can usually claim back extra tax relief through Self-Assessment or by contacting HMRC directly.

For the 2025/26 tax year, you can contribute up to the annual allowance of £60,000, which is the tax-free annual limit. This includes both contributions paid by you (with tax relief) and contributions paid by your employer. If you put more than this into your pension, you may pay a charge on any amount over the contribution limit.

Tax relief on individual contributions and contributions paid on your behalf by anybody other than your employer is limited to the higher of £3,600 gross a tax year or 100% of relevant UK earnings.

If you earn less than £3,600, or you don’t earn anything at all, you’re still allowed to receive tax relief on pension contributions up to £3,600 gross. That means you can save up to £2,880 net plus a 25% tax top up from HMRC.

There is a tapered allowance for higher and additional rate earners. It mainly affects people who earn over £200,000, and we’ve detailed the rates on our pension tax relief page. Your annual allowance may also be reduced if you have already flexibly accessed your pension.

What happens if you exceed the pension contribution limit

If you exceed the limit, you’ll be eligible to pay tax on any amount over the contribution limit. This is called an ‘annual allowance charge’, and it’ll be added to the rest of your taxable income for the year when your tax liability is calculated.

Alternatively, you may be able to ask your pension provider to pay the charge from your pension benefits. In some situations, you may be able to reduce the charge by bringing forward some of your unused annual allowance from previous years.

What’s the carry forward rule?

If you use up all of your annual allowance in one year, it’s possible to contribute more to your pension with unused allowances from previous years and still receive tax relief. You can carry forward unused annual allowances from the three previous tax years, starting with the earliest which would currently be 2022/23. Claiming tax relief on pension contributions for previous years is relatively straightforward as long as you were a member of a pension during that time.

One of the key pension annual allowance carry forward rules is that you can’t receive tax relief on contributions in excess of your earnings in any tax year. For example if a person earns £80,000 in a tax year, they can only contribute up to £80,000 to their pension that tax year. No matter how much unused allowance they have remaining from the previous three years, they can only bring forward £20,000 so that their pension contributions equal their annual salary.

Contributing to your PensionBee pension is straightforward. Go to the ‘Funds’ tab in your mobile app or ‘Contributions’ tab when logging in through a web browser to get started. Then, select the type of contribution you want to make - personal, limited company, or employer contribution - and fill out a short online form. You can choose to make monthly or one-time contributions using Easy bank transfer or standing order. Contributing to your PensionBee pension is flexible and you can contribute as much or as little as you like, as often as you like.

You can make pension contributions from your personal, business, or joint bank account. However, with contributions from joint bank accounts your bank shouldn’t require more than one signature for this. If it does, you can still contribute by setting up an Easy bank transfer. Please contact your dedicated account manager (known as your 'BeeKeeper') if you need more information.

It’s free to make contributions into your pension and there are no minimum contribution amounts. Simply follow the instructions on-screen when making a contribution. If you’re still feeling unsure, you can watch our step-by-step guide on ‘How to make an Easy bank transfer‘ on YouTube.

We don’t offer a workplace pension scheme so we can’t be used by businesses for Auto-Enrolment.

You might be asked to complete a Facial Similarity Check (FSC) for a number of reasons. Most commonly, these requests are made during a change of personal details or your first withdrawal. To carry out a Facial Similarity Check, we’ve partnered with Onfido to provide you with a convenient and secure way to verify your identities.

Onfido uses its technology to verify your identity and will return the results to us. To complete a Facial Similarity Check, you’ll need:

• a smartphone or tablet with a camera to take a selfie; and
• a valid form of photo identification, such as a passport or driving licence.

If the Facial Similarity Check doesn’t pass, your BeeKeeper will review the results and invite you to try this verification method again as a first step. If you’re still unable to digitally prove your identity, your BeeKeeper may need to request certified documents.

We understand that dealing with the death of a loved one is a difficult time, so we try to make notification as easy as possible. To notify PensionBee that one of our customers has passed away, please call 020 3457 8444 or email us at contact@pensionbee.com.

You’ll need to have the personal details of our customer to hand so that we can locate their account. These details may include their:

• full legal name;
• date of birth; and
• registered address.

We’ll send a form by email which needs to be completed and returned by the individual handling our customer’s financial affairs. For example:

• the Executor;
• Administrator; or
• closest next of kin.

The form will ask you to upload certain key documents such as:

• Final Death Certificate; and (if applicable)
• the Will;
• Letter of Administration; and/or
• Marriage Certificate.

Once received, one of our Compliance Managers will review the information. We’ll then be in contact to confirm anything else we may need and explain the next steps.

If you need any information relating to handling the affairs of a loved one in general, there are a range of death and bereavement guides on the MoneyHelper website which can be accessed, free of charge.