The first and most common option is known as an annuity. This is in essence handing over the remaining pension fund in exchange for a guaranteed income for life.

Certain features can be built into your annuity so as to protect some of the money on early death or protect against rising prices in the future. These features will reduce the amount of income you will receive initially but can help protect against future events.

You may also be eligible for potentially enhanced annuity rates if there health issues.

The second option is Income Drawdown where you keep control of your pension fund with the potential for income growth in the future. This option does not provide a guaranteed income for life and future income could fall so is not for everyone.

This option does provide greater flexibility in retirement however and allows for changes to income which can help reduce income tax. You may also be able to get your whole fund out in cash, less tax, in some circumstances.

It is generally suggested that pension funds in excess of £100,000 may be suitable for income drawdown however our Drip-feed Drawdown option may suit smaller funds.

You may also be interested in this Opus Gold Income Drawdown Article