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The Daily Insight

Can I take money out of my pension to buy a house?

Author

Andrew Mclaughlin

Published Mar 05, 2026

In most cases you can take money from your private pension to buy a property. This is because from the age of 55 you can generally take as much or as little money as you like from a private pension.

Can I use my pension to buy a house before 55?

There are also a lot of different expenses associated with using pension money to buy a house. You can withdraw 25% of your pot tax-free after the age of 55, but anything above that will come with an income tax bill of as much as 45% depending on your tax bracket.

Can you pull money out of your pension?

Contact your pension provider if you’re not sure when you can take your pension. You can take up to 25% of the money built up in your pension as a tax-free lump sum. You’ll then have 6 months to start taking the remaining 75%, which you’ll usually pay tax on.

What happens to your pension when you sell your house?

Selling your home may affect the amount of Age Pension that you receive. If you sell your home, the proceeds will be exempt from the assets test for up to 12 months, as long as you are planning to use the money to buy another home. The proceeds, however, will be deemed under the income test.

Can I draw my pension early?

Most personal pensions set an age when you can start taking money from them. It’s not normally before 55. You can take up to 25% of the money built up in your pension as a tax-free lump sum. You’ll then have 6 months to start taking the remaining 75%, which you’ll usually pay tax on.

Can you buy a home with a lump sum pension?

Your lump-sum money is generally treated as ordinary income for the year you receive it (rollovers don’t count; see below). For this reason, your employer is required to withhold 20% of the payout.” Seniors raiding their pensions or retirement accounts to purchase a home or other big ticket purchase should do so with caution.

Is the first 25% of a pension lump sum tax free?

The first 25% you take from your pension is tax-free but anything after that is classed as income. How you’ll be taxed depends on how you opt to take your pension lump sum – there are a number of ways that you can do so:

Can a former employee get a lump sum pension?

Looking for ways to cut their overall costs, many companies have offered former employees who currently receive pension payments the option to get one large payment upfront instead of monthly checks for the rest of their lives.

When to take monthly pension or lump sum payment?

The monthly guarantee is lower for retirees before age 65 and larger for those retiring after age 65. If responsibility for your payments shifts to an insurance company, it will be the insurance company and not the pension plan that is responsible for your guarantees. 2