Five questions to ask before you touch your UK pension

Most people's first instinct when planning a move to India is to ask "what should I do with my pension?" It's the wrong first question — not because it doesn't matter, but because nobody, including a good adviser, can answer it without a few pieces of information first. Have these ready and the first conversation gets a lot more useful, a lot faster.

1. What type of pension do you actually have?

"A pension" isn't one thing. Defined contribution (including a SIPP), defined benefit (final salary), and public-sector pensions are governed by different rules, and some have restrictions the others don't. If you're not sure which you have, your latest annual statement or your scheme administrator will say.

2. Roughly what's it worth?

You don't need an exact figure, but a ballpark matters — some rules and protections apply above certain thresholds, and it shapes what options are worth discussing at all.

3. Where will you be tax-resident, and when?

"Moving to India" can mean very different tax situations depending on timing — whether you're already resident, planning to be within the tax year, or still years out. Residency status, not intention, is usually what determines tax treatment.

4. What income do you actually need, and when?

Some people want to draw immediately; others won't touch the pension for a decade. That timeline changes which options make sense far more than most people expect.

5. Who do you want it to go to if you're not around?

Pension death benefits work differently across schemes and countries, and it's an easy thing to leave unexamined until it's too late to fix cheaply.