pensions

[georgeg]

I contibute to a group personel pension. If I decide to retire before the age of 65 is it only the "non protected rights" part of the fund that can be used to buy an annuity for early retirement-say age 57 for example.Has the "protected rights" part held until state retirement age???

[Sweet G]

Yes. You understand the situation correctly. However, beware taking an annuity; you lose all control over this part of your pot (the non protected rights part)and will never get it back but you will get an income payment until you die. If you wish to access your pension pot you can also do so using "drawdown". This allows you to "draw down", or tap into, some of the available pot to live on whilst still retaining control over the pot. You can still buy an annuity at a later date if you wish but the pot is exposed to investment risk, where the annuity payment is certain. See a pensions adviser to make sure you understand your options.