The choice of a lifetime

Retirement heralds the single largest investment decision many people will ever make. Converting a pension fund built up over a working life into an income stream is a huge step people can't afford to get wrong. Lifetime annuities remain by far the most common method for retirees to make the switch to the decumulation phase of life. They account for over 90% of the £12.6 billion market by volume and about 80% by value in 2006, according to the Association of British Insurers. Given the fact that once a lifetime annuity is purchased buyers are locked in for the rest of their lives, surel...