Annuity vs drawdown – what's the difference?
Annuities and drawdown are the two main ways of funding your retirement using your pension pot. Depending on what you need and how your finances are looking, you might choose either a pension annuity or pension drawdown, or a blend of both.
This article explains:
- The differences between them
- Their pros and cons
- How to find out more
What's the difference between an annuity and drawdown?
When you retire, you need to decide what to do with the money you’ve saved into your pension to provide you with an income through your retirement years. Annuities and drawdown are two of the most common ways of taking a regular income.
You can use money from your pension pot to buy an annuity.
- A pension annuity is a product that pays you a regular guaranteed income for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. One option is to convert the pension pot you’ve built up into a regular income. You can do this by buying what’s called a pension annuity, lifetime annuity or simply an ‘annuity’ with some or all of the money in your pension pot. With a pension annuity you’ll know exactly how much you’re getting, come rain or shine.
- Once you’ve set up your annuity you can’t make any changes to it. So it’s important to shop around and find the one offering the best annuity rate and product options for you.
You can move some or all of your pension pot money into drawdown.
- Putting your pension pot into drawdown means you leave your money invested for you to take out (or ‘draw it down’) as and when needed. The money left invested could grow to replace some or all of the money you draw down, though its value could also drop.
- Drawdown is much more flexible than an annuity. You can change how much and when you take money out of it, and how any money you don’t take out is invested. But you could run out of money because, unlike with an annuity, your payments are not guaranteed.
Which is better – annuity or drawdown?
That depends on what’s most important to you. As a rule, people choose drawdown products for their flexibility and annuities for their predictability. And it doesn’t have to be an either/or pension drawdown vs annuity choice. More and more people are using both together.
For example, when you retire you might want to guarantee that you can always cover your bills. So you spend some of your pot on an annuity, which gives you a guaranteed income for life. Then you can invest the rest of it however you’d like.
Pros and cons of annuities vs drawdown
So what is the difference between annuity and income drawdown? And is there anything about them both that’s the same? We’ve put this annuity vs income drawdown chart together to show you. To make it simple, we've compared a lifetime annuity with drawdown, but if you want to weigh up a fixed term annuity vs drawdown we have a separate article on fixed term annuities.
The differences
| Annuity | Drawdown |
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The amount you’ll get is guaranteed You pay your provider a fixed amount to buy your annuity. They will then make guaranteed payments to you for the rest of your life or an agreed period. |
The amount you’ll get is not guaranteed The value of your pension pot can go down as well as up. That can affect the amount you can draw down from it. But your payments aren’t fixed – you can choose how much income you want to take, and when. |
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An annuity is a lower risk product Once you buy an annuity, your income is guaranteed. It will never unexpectedly stop or run out. |
Drawdown can be a risky product It’s dependent on your pension pot, which could lose value or even run out. |
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Your pension pot can’t grow any more You use your pot to buy your annuity. Once it’s spent, it can’t go up or down in value, unless you have selected an increasing option. |
Your pension pot could still grow Any money you don’t draw down stays invested. Its value can still grow, though it could also go down. |
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Once agreed, you have no flexibility Your pension annuity can’t be cashed in or surrendered. You can’t make any changes once it’s up and running. |
Once agreed, you have some flexibility You can draw down as much money as you want, stopping and starting whenever you want to. You can buy a pension annuity at any future point. |
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Your health and lifestyle matter If you’re not in good health, or make certain lifestyle choices, providers may offer you a higher income - this is an enhanced annuity. |
Your health and lifestyle don’t matter Your age and lifestyle make no difference to the amount you might get from a drawdown. |
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There are no ongoing costs Once your annuity’s up and running, you don’t need to pay any fees or charges. |
There are ongoing costs Your provider will charge you a fee for your drawdown account.
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The similarities
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For annuities and drawdown |
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You must be aged at least 55 (or 57 after April 2028). |
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You can usually take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum. |
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Any income you take is taxable Income above your personal allowance is taxable. The amount of tax you pay on your annuity or drawdown income will depend on your circumstances. |
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Your state benefits could be affected Annuity or drawdown income could affect your entitlement to any means-tested state benefits. |
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Your loved ones might inherit some money You can name a loved one as a beneficiary, so they receive money after you die. You can learn more in our article, 'What happens to an annuity when you die?'. |
What should I do next?
So are annuities worth it? Or is pension drawdown better than an annuity? Or maybe both? Well, that depends on your financial goals and circumstances. If you’re still not sure, we’d recommend:
- Getting some financial advice or guidance:
- if you don’t already have a financial adviser, you can find one at Unbiased
- if you’re over 50, book a free appointment with Pension Wise for impartial guidance
55% of over-55s who have accessed a pension chose to seek advice from a regulated adviser or guidance from the free, government-backed service, Pension Wise. One in five of the 45% who didn’t get guidance now regret their decision.
Related articles
What is an annuity?
What is pension drawdown?
