RETIREMENT OPTIONS

2.1  PURCHASE AN ANNUITY  -  This can be direct from a money purchase occupational policy, called an Occupational Pensions Annuity (OPA) or from a Personal Pension fund, called a Person Pensions Annuity (PPA).  You normally have the choice of taking the Open Market Option of transferring the funds to another insurance company of your choice and would then have to buy an annuity from that second company.  This would be called a compulsory Purchase annuity (CPA) from an insurance company or other annuity provider.There are many types of annuity to choose from including some in 5 or 10 year bands which allow you to defer the final annuity purchase until as late as age 85.

 

2.2  PHASED RETIREMENT  -  Many pension policies are split into lots of small policies.  This enables you to “retire” with some of the policies to give you some cash and some income and to leave the other policies still invested to be drawn later.  This is not normally available for occupational pension schemes.

 

2.3  INCOME DRAWDOWN  -  Sometimes called pension fund withdrawal.  You can leave the funds invested but start to take an income from the fund.  The Government Actuaries Department (GAD) produce tables with a monthly figure which is the set amount of pension that can be provided from a given fund.  It is possible to take less than this set figure in which case your funds may grow to allow you to take a larger pension in the future.  You must take at least 35% of this GAD figure.  At least every three years the amount you are drawing must be re-calculated.  By age 75 at the latest, all of the fund must be taken as a combination of tax free cash and the rest used to purchase an annuity.

 

2.4  SELF INVEST-  Currently you can only do this until you reach age 75 at which point you must take the benefits by purchasing an annuity (with the possibility of taking some of the fund as a tax free lump sum).

   

2.4  LEAVE IT FULLY INVESTED  -  Currently you can only do this until you reach age 75 at which point you must take the benefits by purchasing an annuity (with the possibility of taking some of the fund as a tax free lump sum).