Filling out pension paperwork can feel overwhelming with all the technical jargon.
This guide breaks down the key terms found in your Pension Benefit Claim Form and Pension Drawdown Form to help you complete them with confidence.
Key Withdrawal Terms
When you decide how to take your money, you will see these terms frequently:
Tax-Free Lump Sum: Also known as a Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS). Generally, you can take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free payment.
Uncrystallised Funds: This refers to money in your pension that you haven't touched yet. Once you take a tax-free lump sum or income, that portion of the fund becomes "Crystallised".
Flexi-Access Drawdown: This is a way of taking taxable income from your pension while keeping the rest invested. You can take as much or as little as you want, but anything beyond your tax-free lump sum is taxed as earned income.
UFPLS (Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum): A way to take a lump sum where 25% is tax-free and the remaining 75% is taxed at your marginal rate, all in one go.
Allowances and Protections
The government limits how much you can take or save without extra tax charges.
Lump Sum Allowance (LSA): This is the total limit on the tax-free lump sums you can take across all your pension schemes.
Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA): Once you start taking flexible taxable income (not just your tax-free lump sum), the amount you can contribute back into pensions drops significantly—usually to £10,000 per year.
Transitional Protections (Primary, Enhanced, Fixed, or Individual): These are special protections for people who had large pension pots before tax rules changed in 2006, 2012, 2014, or 2016. If you don’t recognize these, you likely don't have them, but you should check your records if you’ve had a high-value pension for many years.
The "Disinvestment" Process
Before Jarvis can pay you, they have to turn your investments into cash.
Selling Assets Proportionally: This is the standard process where Jarvis sells a bit of every fund you own to raise the cash you requested.
Market Conditions: Because it takes 3–5 working days to sell assets, the final amount you receive might be slightly different from the value you see on your screen today due to market fluctuations
Verification Checklist
To prevent fraud and comply with UK law, you must provide two types of ID13:
List A (Identity) | List B (Address) |
Valid Passport 14
| Council Tax statement (current year) 15
|
Valid Driving License 16
| Bank statement (last 6 months) 17
|
Biometric Residence Permit 18
| Utility bill (last 6 months, no mobiles) 19
|
Note: You cannot use the same document for both categories20. If you use your driving license for List A, you must use a utility bill or bank statement for List B.
Important Warnings
Recycling: You should not take a tax-free lump sum specifically to significantly increase your contributions into another pension. This is called "recycling" and can lead to tax penalties.
Pension Wise: This is a free, impartial government service that provides guidance on your pension options. We strongly recommend using it if you have any doubts.