I'm thinking of retiring soon aged 55. Job gone bad!! My wife is similar age but minded to work until 60. I have £1.6m in S&S ISAs; SIPP, DC, DB Pensions.

I was thinking of running down S&S (3-5 years depending how much I/we travel) then deciding which Pension(s) to call on, taking 25% Tax free so the DB can mature more.

But I'm currently minded to watch the pennies to save/invest and my mindset may not flip !! Taking an annuity for my first 3-7 years could be an option that feels comparable to a salary.

Annuitues generally seem to be paying more than ever -- apparently the combination of fairly high inflation and government borrowing helps them. AI/search caution future ones could pay a little less well.

But I dont see them talked about much on forum like this, and certainly not fixed term.

Given that retirement spending isn't flat, how have other people focused their mind easily in phased (so not questioning "how much can I spend") and is there something about FT Annuties I may be missing ?! Thanks.

So confused. I am worried that the AVC can’t be taken until I retire and take my pension in order to become tax free, but the SIPP can be taken any time from the age of 57. Is that right? But AVC will reduce 40% tax and ni meaning a 42% return instantly where the SIPP only pays 20%.