Your options

The options available on a company pension scheme are subject to the scheme rules and the scheme trustee's discretion. The options outlined here are a guide and are not applicable to all schemes.

• When a Company Pension Scheme is set up, trustees nominate from a wide range of investment options and choose the best funds to offer their scheme members.
• Members can then select from that range the funds that best suit their attitude to risk subject to the main scheme rules.
• As an employer, you can contribute as much as you want to the fund. However, your employees could be liable to a tax charge if the total contributions, including employer contributions, exceed the Annual Allowance in a tax year.
• If you're a scheme member:
  • You can take your Legal & General company pension at any time between the ages of 55 and 75 (the minimum age is 50 if you take your benefits before 5 April 2010). It's important to note that the normal retirement age of your scheme is set by the trustees or your employer and is subject to the main scheme rules.
  • You can make contributions of up to 100 per cent of your annual earnings each year and still get full tax relief including higher rate (where appropriate). You can contribute more than this to any of your plans but you wouldn't get tax relief on the excess.
  • You can take part of your pension as a cash lump sum subject to the main scheme rules.
  • There are no restrictions on the value of the total benefits payable from all of your Registered Pension Schemes. However, anything over a certain amount, called the Lifetime Allowance (LTA), will be subject to a tax charge of up to 55 per cent on the excess. The LTA is £1.6m for the 2007/2008 tax year.