When you get to retirement age you’ll have some significant choices to make, the first being when that retirement age will be. The minimum age increased from 50 to 55 on 6 April 2010 and the statutory age is also rising, primarily for women to 65, to balance their pension rights with those of males, but then, after that, up to 68 for everyone.
As a guideline it is much better to delay retirement for as long as is viable. Deferring state, employment and/or personal pension benefits sometimes offers a larger income than retiring early, as the older you get, the more improved annuity rates have a tendency to be. Similarly, if you opt to downsize your career but can still earn some income after your chosen retirement date, you could be able to ‘phase ‘ your retirement, only using a portion of your pension fund to start off with and leaving the remainder invested until much later – or maybe even indefinitely.
However the most crucial choice you’ll make, when you decide it is time to purchase, will be which annuity, or unsecured pension product you ought to have and whether to take your 25% pension lump sum. It’s this which will affect your definitive income.
In return for a lump sum – in this case the proceeds of your pension plan – an annuity will provide you with an income stream for life. Nevertheless this does mean you give up all right to that capital “and your family may not inherit anything of your hard-earned savings, particularly if you die very soon after you purchase. You thus need to gauge the benefits of guarantees in your annuity choice (ie: security over some of the value of that fund, at least for the short term) against the rate being offered to you.
As an alternative, you can use an unsecured pension arrangement, which lets you keep your fund entirely invested and to draw an income directly from that. This income could be less or more than you could receive with an annuity, dependent on your circumstances and needs, but it ensures you preserve some of the value of your pension fund.
Of course, you might do a touch of both – take an annuity for part of your pension fund and leave the remainder invested. Such a combination could provide a decent half way house, but be sure to look at all of the options before you make your move.
Info thanks to Adviser Hub. We do recommend that before you take any action regarding obtaining an unsecured pension, annuity or taking an early pension release, that you undertake a full pension review with the help of a certified pension adviser.





