Should I stay or should I go?

Which is better for retirement - to stay invested in different asset classes, or to buy an annuity? While each option has advantages and disadvantages, there are other alternatives

This is probably a question often asked by many people with a pension fund as they approach retirement. Should they stay invested in asset classes - such as bonds, equities, cash or property, which make up their fund - or should they use these assets to buy an annuity? A major contributory factor in this decision is going to be their reliance on the pension fund to produce a regular income. Assuming most will want to take their tax-free lump sum in the first instance, the choice is often then either to defer taking a regular income, take regular income payments directly from the pension fu...