How to Fill Out and Submit the Aviva Pension Withdrawal Form

To take money out of an Aviva pension, you use one of two routes. If you hold an Aviva self-invested personal pension with an account number starting “AV2,” you apply for drawdown online through MyAviva. Otherwise, your financial adviser completes the Aviva pension withdrawal form, formally called the drawdown client declaration (reference LF01074C), and submits it digitally to Aviva’s platform on your behalf.¹ You must be at least 55 to access the money, a floor that rises to 57 on 6 April 2028.²

Which Form or Route Applies to You

The LF01074C declaration form covers moving funds from a pre-retirement account into a post-retirement drawdown account. It handles both single drawdown, where the whole pot is crystallised at once, and phased drawdown, where portions are crystallised over time.¹ It is designed to be filled in with a financial adviser, who then submits the online application and uploads the signed declaration to your document library on the Aviva platform.

If you want a different kind of withdrawal, this form is not the right one. An uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS), a full cash-in, or an annuity purchase each run through the MyAviva journey or a separate request. The declaration form is specifically a drawdown document.

And if you do not already hold an Aviva SIPP, you will need to open one and transfer your existing pensions into it before you can apply for drawdown at all.³ That transfer step adds weeks, so start it well before you need the money.

What You Need Before You Start

The declaration form itself is short. The identifying fields it asks you to complete are your Aviva account number or numbers, your client reference, and your forename(s) and surname.¹ One useful thing to know: it does not ask for your National Insurance number, despite the common assumption that pension paperwork always does.

Have these to hand before you sit down with the form or begin the online journey:

Your Aviva account number and client reference, both of which appear on your annual pension statement and in your MyAviva dashboard.
Bank account details. You enter these through MyAviva rather than on the form, but Aviva will not release funds until they are on file.³
Details of any tax-free lump sums you have already taken from other pensions. The declaration requires you to confirm you have told your adviser about any lump sum allowance and lump sum and death benefit allowance you have already used.
A transitional tax-free amount certificate, if you held protections under the old lifetime allowance regime. The form asks you to confirm you have discussed it with your adviser.
Photo ID such as a passport or driving licence, in case Aviva needs fresh anti-money-laundering checks.

Walking Through the Declaration Form

The paper form has five sections.¹

Section 1 is personal details: account number(s), client reference, full name.

Section 2 asks which drawdown type you are doing: single, where everything crystallises at once, or phased, where you crystallise in stages.

Section 3 captures the adviser charge agreement. Initial and ongoing adviser charges go here, as either a fixed pound amount or a percentage of the fund.

Section 4 covers a discretionary investment manager charge. If a DIM runs a model portfolio for you, their name and charge percentage are entered here. Leave it blank if no DIM is involved.

Section 5 is the declaration itself. You print your name, sign, and date. By signing, you confirm you have given your adviser information about any protections, transitional certificates, and lump sum allowance already used elsewhere.

The Online Route Through MyAviva

If you have an Aviva SIPP with an “AV2” account number, you can skip the paper form entirely. Log in to MyAviva, go to your pension, and follow the drawdown application journey. Afterward, you manage and adjust withdrawals through the same portal or the MyAviva app.³ Add your bank details to the pension policy in MyAviva before starting, because the application will not pay out without them.

Once you are in drawdown, you can set up regular withdrawals that automatically sell investments and move cash to your account. Frequency and amount can be changed at any time. There is no minimum or maximum, though large early withdrawals increase both your tax bill and the risk of running the pot down.

Submitting the Form and How Long It Takes

For the online application, MyAviva gives you a digital trail you can check at any time. For the paper declaration, your adviser scans and uploads the signed document to Aviva’s platform after submitting the application online.¹

Expect fifteen working days end to end. Aviva’s stated procedure is five working days to produce a quote and send it to you, then another ten working days to process and release payment after you return the signed quote.⁴ Later changes to drawdown instructions, such as adjusting your regular income amount or payment frequency, can take up to twenty working days.⁵

If your request falls near the end of a tax year in early April, watch the dates. A payment that lands on the other side of 6 April is taxed against the new tax year’s income, which can help or hurt depending on your other earnings.

The Pension Wise Step

Before processing a withdrawal, Aviva has to refer you to Pension Wise, the free government-backed guidance service. The provider must explain what Pension Wise offers, encourage you to use it, and offer to book an appointment; if you decline, Aviva records that you opted out.⁶ Appointments are available by phone, online, or face-to-face, last about an hour, and cover your options, tax implications, and the effect on means-tested benefits.

Advisers at Pension Wise regularly flag issues that catch people out on a first withdrawal, including the money purchase annual allowance trigger and how a lump sum changes your tax code.

Tax Points That Catch First-Time Withdrawers

Emergency Tax

When Aviva does not hold an up-to-date tax code from HMRC, your first payment is taxed on an emergency code. That code assumes the payment will repeat every month for the rest of the year, which usually deducts far more tax than you actually owe. Giving Aviva a recent P45 from an ended employment or pension helps, though the provider will typically still use a “month 1” basis rather than cumulative.

You do not have to wait until the end of the tax year for HMRC to reconcile. You can reclaim directly using one of three forms, depending on your situation:⁷

Form P55 if you have flexibly accessed your pension but not emptied it, and will not take further payments before the tax year ends.
Form P53Z if you have flexibly accessed and emptied the pension.
Form P50Z if you have emptied the pension and also stopped working.

Any of these can be submitted online through HMRC’s portal or printed and posted. HMRC pays refunds by Faster Payments into a bank account in your name.

The 25% Tax-Free Allowance

Up to 25% of what you crystallise can normally be paid tax-free, but there is a lifetime cap. The lump sum allowance for 2026/27 is £268,275, and it applies across all your pensions combined.³ Every tax-free lump sum you have ever taken from any provider counts toward it. A broader cap, the lump sum and death benefit allowance, sits at £1,073,100 and covers both lifetime and death-benefit lump sums.⁸ Anything above £268,275 taken as a “tax-free” lump sum is actually taxed as income. Add up what you have already taken elsewhere before signing the form.

The Money Purchase Annual Allowance

Once you flexibly access taxable pension income, whether through drawdown income or a UFPLS, your future contribution limit drops. The money purchase annual allowance for 2026/27 is £10,000, compared to the standard annual allowance of £60,000.⁹ Taking only a tax-free lump sum without any taxable income does not trigger it. The moment you take even a small taxable payment, the reduced allowance applies permanently. If you are still working and your employer pays into a pension for you, this is worth understanding before your first withdrawal.

Early Access and Protected Pension Ages

Trying to withdraw before the normal minimum pension age triggers unauthorised payment charges from HMRC that can take more than half of what you withdraw.¹⁰ Some people hold a protected pension age that allows earlier access: you may qualify if you had an unqualified right to take benefits before age 50 prior to April 2006, or before age 55 on 5 April 2006. Scheme members on 3 November 2021 who had an unqualified right to take a pension before age 57 will keep that right when the minimum rises in 2028.¹¹ If you think you have a protected age, confirm it with Aviva or your adviser before you complete any withdrawal paperwork.

1
Aviva. Aviva Drawdown Client Declaration Form
2
HM Revenue & Customs. Pensions Tax Manual – PTM062100
3
Aviva. Pension Income Drawdown – Flexible Retirement Income
4
Financial Ombudsman Service. Decision DRN-4367886
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Aviva. Aviva Income Drawdown Plan Investment Instructions and Income Review Form
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House of Commons Library. Take-Up of Pensions Guidance and Advice
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GOV.UK. Claim Back Tax on a Flexibly Accessed Pension Overpayment (P55)
8
Aviva. Taking Your Pension as a Lump Sum – 25% Tax Free
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GOV.UK. Tax on Your Private Pension Contributions – Annual Allowance
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Aviva. Pension Scams – Understanding the Warning Signs
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House of Commons Library. Minimum Pension Age