Six to four months to go

You're only a few months away from the date you said you wanted to retire. If you have an Aviva pension plan, you should have received a pack giving you information on what you need to do next. You have some big decisions to make. Once you've bought an annuity, you can't generally make any changes or cancel it, even if your personal circumstances change, so you need to understand what you're committing to before you buy.

What's in my pack?

Your pack contains a letter, a personal information form, a brochure and a number of leaflets. It tells you what your options are and what you should be thinking about now in the run up to retirement.

See what your pack looks like.

Why should I do anything now?

The next few months will go by in a flash. The pack contains a personal information form. You should complete this in as much detail as possible and return it to us. We'll use the information to give you a personalised quote two months before your retirement date, so the more you can tell us about yourself, the better.

You should also use the time between now and then to get statements from all your pension providers, shop around for the best deal and talk to an adviser. You can also check what State benefits you could get.

What to do now checklist

Read your pack for more information on annuities and what to do next.
Fully complete and return the personal information form in your pack, so we can send you a personalised quote. Alternatively, you can use our retirement income calculator to see how much income you could get from your pension fund.
Talk to a financial adviser.
Look into your options and find out what's right for you.
You can start by comparing retirement products.
We'll send you a detailed quote two months before you are due to retire based on the information you've given us on either the retirement income calculator or personal information form.

Retirement income calculator

See how much income you could get from your pension fund.

Calculate retirement income

What if I don't want to retire now?

That's completely up to you. If you have an Aviva pension plan and want to continue working or simply don't want to take your benefits yet, just tell us so on the personal information form and return it to us. We'll contact you again about five months before your new retirement date. With Aviva, if you are approaching your 75th birthday, you must do something with your pension fund. For further information please refer to our FAQs - Can I retire after I'm 75?

Why are you asking me to give you personal information?

The more we know about your personal circumstances, the more we can tailor our quote for a retirement income to you. If you or your dependant have or have had certain medical conditions, you may get a higher income from enhanced benefits on your pension annuity, so make sure you tell us everything. We also consider your height, weight and whether you smoke.

Why are you asking questions about my dependant?

You can choose whether you want to set up an income for your dependant if you die before them. There are special rules for certain types of pension funds, which we'll take into account on any quotes we send you.

Check how much income you could get

You can probably take some of your pension fund as tax-free cash and use the rest to buy an income for life. Learn more about how much income you can get from your pension fund or use our retirement income calculator.

We've developed the retirement income calculator to let you see how the size of your pension fund and the choices you make can affect your income.

Call us if you're terminally ill

If you have an Aviva pension plan and have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, please give us a call on 0800 533 5195.

You may be able to take all of your pension fund as one lump sum, which could go a long way to easing your money worries or making you more comfortable.

Related FAQs

How do I shop around?

You can ask any annuity provider to give you a quote for the amount of income they may give you. You need to tell them the size of your pension fund. If you have more than one fund, it may be worth combining them into one large fund, although this is not always possible. See our FAQ on "When is it not right for me to put all of my pension funds together?". You can either contact the annuity providers yourself or ask your financial adviser to get you some quotes. It's probably easier to get a financial adviser to help you shop around. Once you have the quotes, you can compare them and find the best deal for you. The quotes you receive from the annuity providers are usually only an indication of what you might receive, so check with each provider if the quote is guaranteed.

I don't understand the personal information form. Can you help me?

The personal information form is just a form that asks you to give us some information about yourself. The more we know, the more we can tailor our quote for a retirement income to your personal circumstances. The form asks you about your age, health and lifestyle. You should complete it as fully and accurately as possible. The first set of questions deal with your personal information, such as your name, address, date of birth and so on. We send out two types of forms. The one you receive will depend on what type of pension plan you have with us. The four page form asks for medical details for both yourself and your spouse, civil partner or dependant. You only need to fill in the information for a second person if you want to provide them with an income too.

Read the questions carefully and answer them in as much detail as possible. The more you can tell us, the more we can tailor your annuity to your situation. Some medical conditions may actually mean that you could get a higher level of income. Your doctor may be able to help you fill in some of the medical details.

If you are still having problems with the form, give us a call on 0800 533 5195 and one of our call centre staff will help you complete the form.

I haven't received a personal information form. How can I get hold of one?

Call us on 0800 533 5195 for a form.

Read all FAQs