Once you have built up a fund to provide you with benefits when you stop working there are a few choices as to how you then use those funds to support your ongoing lifestyle. Some of the options are more or less flexible than others and some contain a greater or lesser level of risk. This is an extremely important decision and cannot in any way be taken lightly.
There are a number of options that are available in order to produce retirement income that best suits your needs.
These options are:
- Purchase an annuity with either your existing pension company or place your entire pension funds on the ‘open market’ with an insurance company to obtain the best annuity rate. There are also investment linked annuities to consider.
- Use the flexibility of a Phased Retirement fund to vary income levels to meet your overall income needs.
- Use the pension fund withdrawal scheme or Income Drawdown plan, to provide you with variable income to meet your overall income needs.
- Use the new flexible drawdown rules to withdraw as much or as little as you require. These rules are very new and very complicated with some challenging tax implications, therefore requiring serious consideration and planning.
As previously stated, this is a very important, “rest of your life” decision and should be taken seriously. We can provide you with additional reading material if you wish but bearing in mind the free initial meeting you might wish to discuss this in greater depth.