Quick on the drawdown?

PENSIONERS often feel they face a stark choice between leaving their retirement savings invested in drawdown or buying a lifetime annuity.

- Harvey Jones

However, there is a third option: doing both.

Insurer Standard Life is highlighting the potential benefits of combining the two strategies, which could give retirees the certainty of an annuity and the flexibility of drawdown.

This blended approach is not new, with other insurers and financial advisers also encouraging clients to adopt a mix-and-match strategy.

However, some pensioners find it complicated and prefer to stick with just one option.

Before the 2015 pension reforms, buying an annuity at retirement was virtually obligatory. After the rule was scrapped, demand plummeted.

Today's higher interest rates have seen annuity sales rise 38% over the past two years, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.