Now I no longer have to buy an annuity, why on earth would I want to consider it?

While pensions legislation allows you almost unlimited scope to do what you want with your fund, it isn’t necessarily the best thing to do for everyone.

The quality that an annuity brings to retirement is certainty. Once you have bought an annuity, it will be paid for the rest of your life. There is no risk, you will have a predictable income and it will never run out.

Far from being obsolete, the annuity remains an important part of the financial planning toolkit. From the completely risk averse, to those who want to underwrite their drawdown plans with a guaranteed income from some of their pension pot, the annuity could prove to be a vital component of their long term financial plan.