If you take your pension at age 55 and still work is there a penalty?

Although you can retire at any age, you can only get your State Pension when you reach State Pension age.

The earliest you can receive a company or personal pension is 55

• but this depends on your pension scheme rules. If you're retiring

because of ill-health you may be able to take your benefits before this age.

If you have serious ill-health and your life expectancy is less than a year then you can retire at any age. You can take up to 100 per cent of your pension fund as a tax-free lump sum. If you're married or have a civil partner, up to 50 per cent of the pension fund may be retained by the scheme. This will be used to provide for a Survivor's pension.