Retirement planning
How a pension turns into an income: annuities, drawdown, final salary schemes and the choices that are hard to undo.
Explainer
What decides the income an annuity pays for the rest of your life
An annuity swaps a pension pot for a guaranteed income. Age, health, the type of annuity and the shape of the income all move the figure, and the choice is usually permanent.
The long read
The withdrawal rate that decides how long a drawdown pension lasts
Drawdown leaves a pension invested while you take an income from it. The share you take out each year does more than anything else to decide whether the money outlasts you.
Explainer
Why taking a final salary pension early usually means a smaller pension for life
A defined benefit pension can often start before the scheme’s normal pension age, but it is then reduced to pay for the extra years. How the reduction works, and what to ask the scheme first.
Explainer
Why taking a final salary pension early usually means a smaller pension for life
A defined benefit pension can often start before the scheme’s normal pension age, but it is then reduced to pay for the extra years. How the reduction works, and what to ask the scheme first.
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