- C
- Capped Drawdown
- This was a type of drawdown available before 6 April 2015, where the maximum amount of income payable each year was restricted to a factor of the Government Actuarial Tables. It was replaced by Flexi Access Drawdown but can still be used by people who requested income drawdown before April 2015.
- Carry Forward
- This is a feature which allows people with unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years to “carry it forward” and add it to the current year’s annual allowance. This enables them to receive tax relief on large contributions. For example, as of 6 April 2025, someone who had not made a pension contribution for at least three tax years could carry forward a maximum of £160,000. There are some conditions that would apply in order to be eligible for this, for example they would need to have been a member of a pension scheme in each of the last three tax years, and they would also need to have enough earnings in the current tax year to be eligible for tax relief (at least £160,000 in this case).
- Cash deposits
- This can refer to money invested into a pension which is held in a bank or building society deposit account rather than a unit trust, property or a bond. It can also refer to the minimum cash that a pension provider will ask to be held in a bank account to pay for policy or advisor fees.
- Corporate Bonds
- This is a popular type of investment which can be held in a pension. It is a form of debt instrument, much like a loan where the buyer of the bond effectively lends money to a company (the bond issuer) which makes regular interest payments until a set date in the future.
- Crystallisation
- In connection with a pension, this refers to the process involved when you access your pension savings to take retirement benefits such as a lump sum or income drawdown, or buy an annuity. The pension fund moves from an “uncrystallised” state to a “crystallised” state. Either part of, or all of the fund may be crystallised, depending on how much of the pension fund is accessed.
Is there jargon we use that you don’t fully understand? Please email us at info@ifglpensions.com and we will add the word to our Jargon Buster.