Pension Wise, advice and taking your pension benefits

If you’ve recently started to speak to us about taking money from your pension, you’ve probably noticed several references to Pension Wise and taking advice in the documents you’ve received or information you’ve read online.

What do Pension Wise do?

Pension Wise is a government service from MoneyHelper that offers free, impartial guidance to people over 50 with defined contribution pension options. The service was established in 2015, following the introduction of ‘pension freedoms’ legislation.

What is changing this year?

The government has asked pension scheme providers and trustees to encourage their members to speak to Pension Wise, or take regulated financial advice, before taking some or all of their pension benefits.

When requesting your retirement pack or taking your benefits through one of our online services you’ll be asked if you’ve arranged an appointment with Pension Wise so they can talk you through the options available to you. We’ll also ask if you want us to make the appointment on your behalf. We’ll take a note of your appointment date so we can get back in touch with you afterwards and progress your retirement claim.