In addition to any company pension schemes that you have accumulated over the years, you may also have other pension savings, such as personal pension plans, retirement annuity contracts and self-invested pensions, and non-pension savings, such as ISAs.  With these savings you need to decide how you want to access them to provide an income for the rest of your life.  Your financial adviser will be able to provide you with the best advice for you.

One of the most popular way to secure an income for life is to buy a lifetime annuity.  This means exchanging your retirement fund for an income each year for the rest of your life (however long you may live).
There are many different types of lifetime annuity and you need to consider which type is best for you.  The difference in income can be significant. For example, if you are in poor health or live in an area of the country where mortality rates are high or you are a smoker; you could qualify for a significant boost to your income if you buy the right type of annuity.
Once you’ve decided which type is right for you, there are a number of additional choices you have to make.  Here are some of the most important:

• Flat or increasing income?  Do you want a level income for the rest of your life or would you prefer an increasing income each year.  Put like this, who wouldn’t opt for an increasing income?  But there is a price.  If you opt for an increasing income, the starting income you receive will be less, sometimes much less. 
  
  
• Single life or joint life?  Do you want your income to continue to be paid, either at the same amount or a lower amount, to your partner or any dependants in the event of your death (this is known as ‘joint life’)?  If you do, you’ll receive a lower income than if you’d chosen the ‘single life’ option.
  
  
• Payment in the event of your death.  You can opt for protection in the event of your death after you’ve retired by selecting one of the following options:
• Guaranteed period.  You can choose a fixed period during which payments will continue to be made after you die. Commonly, people select 5 or 10 years.  For example, if you choose a 10 year guaranteed period and die 3 years after buying the annuity, the remaining 7 years payments would continue to be made.  
• Value protection.  It’s possible to arrange your annuity so that if you die before age 75 your estate will receive all of your original investment less the payments made to the date of your death.

A lifetime annuity isn’t the only option.  There are other options available, such as income drawdown or phased retirement, for example.  These are all alternative ways to provide for your income in retirement and each has its advantages and disadvantages.  Speak to your adviser about whether these products may be suitable for you.

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