Normal minimum pension age (NMPA) is changing from 55 to 57 from 6th April 2028.
Who's affected?
Born before 6th April 1971 — will have reached 57 by 6th April 2028 and are unaffected.
Born on or after 6th April 1973 — will be under 55 on 6th April 2028 and can only access benefits from age 57.
Born between 6th April 1971 and 5th April 1973 — these individuals will be aged 55 or 56 on 6th April 2028. The transitional rules will largely apply to this group of individuals.
Exemptions and exclusions
Protected Pension Age: Individuals with a valid protected pension age (e.g. age 55 protection) retain their right to access benefits at their lower protected age provided all applicable conditions are met.
Ill-Health Retirement: Individuals retiring due to ill-health remain unaffected and can access benefits early subject to our standard ill-health criteria being met.
Transitional rules
The transitional provisions described below are based on HMRC's draft regulations and may be subject to change before 6th April 2028.
Under the proposed transitional rules, clients who are aged 55 or 56 when the NMPA changes on 6th April 2028 will still be able to take income from funds they had already moved into drawdown before the change.
However, any remaining uncrystallised funds will generally not be accessible until they reach age 57, unless they have a protected pension age or another exception applies.
How it works in practice
Partial crystallisation
Dave Wilson turned 55 on 1st February 2027. He has a Parmenion SIPP worth £200,000 and decides to crystallise half of it. Of the £100,000 crystallised, £25,000 is taken as tax-free cash, with the remaining £75,000 moved into drawdown.
Dave then starts taking an income of £500 a month from his drawdown pot. Because these funds have already been designated to drawdown, he can continue accessing them after the rules change on 6th April 2028.
However, unless he holds a protected pension age of 55, he won't be able to crystallise or otherwise access his remaining uncrystallised funds after 6th April 2028. He'll now need to wait until he turns 57 on 1st February 2029 before he can access them.
Full crystallisation
Emma Taylor turned 55 on 1st November 2026. She also has a Parmenion SIPP worth £200,000 and decides to fully crystallise the plan. £50,000 is taken as tax-free cash, with the remaining £150,000 moved into drawdown.
At this stage, Emma doesn't take any taxable income from her drawdown pot.
On 5th May 2028, Emma decides to start taking an income. Although she hasn't taken any taxable income before 6th April 2028, her funds had already been designated to drawdown. Under the transitional rules, she can start taking income from those drawdown funds after 6th April 2028, even though she's still not 57.
What happens next
We’re preparing for the increase in NMPA ahead of April 2028, including making changes to our functionality to support clients affected by the transitional rules.
We’ll continue to monitor HMRC guidance as the regulations are finalised and keep financial advisers updated on any developments that could affect their clients.
This article is for financial professionals only. Any information contained within is of a general nature and should not be construed as a form of personal recommendation or financial advice. Nor is the information to be considered an offer or solicitation to deal in any financial instrument or to engage in any investment service or activity. Parmenion accepts no duty of care or liability for loss arising from any person acting, or refraining from acting, as a result of any information contained within this article. All investment carries risk. The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and investors may get back less than they put in. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
