I actually very much like the concept of unwinding a pension provided we can extend the principle to the government-funded state pension.
Perhaps all those state pensions in payment which are lower than the new proposals can be upgraded to the new proposals.
Furthermore, if an annuity is in payment, that payment is guaranteed for life and there would rightly be uproar if there was any attempt to reduce the payments (just look at Equitable Life). However, the government can cut back and even abolish state benefits. Should not these be reinstated at their previous levels and backdated?
It seems that some people want the best of all worlds. Retain the annuity if that has done well for them, but convert it to a new rules drawdown contract, if with the benefit of 100 per cent hindsight, that would have been better for them.
Annuities should only be unpicked if there has been clear mis-selling.
Alan Kendrick
IFA, Oakwood Financial Services, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
