Your Options

Your RSP account will have grown over the years to your chosen retirement date, through contributions made both by yourself and IMI, as well as through growth as a result of the investment choices that you have made.

You now have a number of important decisions to make before you can convert your RSP account into an income that will support you and your dependants.

The main options available to you at retirement are as follows:

• Cash Lump Sum - Take your accrued fund as a cash lump sum over one or two years (the first 25% of any payment is tax free, the rest taxable).
• Annuity - Purchase an annuity with your fund which will give you an income in retirement. Some annuities guarantee an income for life, whilst others pay an amount over a fixed number of years.
• Income option - an alternative to the convetional lifetime annuity.
• Drawdown - Use your pension pot to invest in a “flexi-access drawdown” product, which keeps your pension invested, but provides a regular income (this is not guaranteed for life).
• Stay Invested –  Keep your pension savings where they are (delay retirement after your current target date).

You can also consider a mix of the above options.    

The RSP Drawdown offers members the ability to withdraw their RSP balance over a pre-defined period of up to five years, allowing them to plan the amount of income received and the tax payable. Members with large balances who are seeking a complex drawdown facility may need to transfer out to a specialist drawdown provider.