The retirement armoury

Conventional wisdom is that the use of the traditional annuity as a weapon of choice has had its day. The retirement planner and the retiree need a more sophisticated armoury. Increased longevity and recent sustained periods of relatively low interest rates encouraged disillusionment with the traditional annuity. The introduction of income drawdown and phased retirement in the 1990s was a consequence of that disillusionment. Of course for many people increased longevity and low interest rates are 'good things'. It is mainly those on the cusp of retirement who have cause to worry. There ...