Nanny rules
ANOTHER needless handicap for person- al pensions is the nannyish restriction on what can happen when they mature. The pensioner must at once buy an annuity from a life assurance company and invest a lump sum. That would have been hard luck on those forced to invest during the first half of October. The Unit Trust Associa- tion calls it a lottery for the customer and a monopoly for the life assurance industry. Why not (the Association says) let the pensioner put off buying his annuity, phase in the purchase over time; why shouldn't he be free to withdraw capital from his fund up to the tax-free limit, or to draw money from it as taxed income? The questions go back to the first and basic question about pension funds — whose money is it, anyway?
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