No more compulsory annuitisation meant people had to suddenly wake up and take an interest in their financial affairs, rather than just tick a box when it came to buying an annuity.

The entire, technology-driven world is abuzz with the concept of ‘client engagement’, and whether by lucky accident or by deliberate design, pensions have fallen into that bracket too.

Not before time, some might say. For too long the financial services industry has complained that people were not saving enough or thinking about their future.

Pension freedom has now put pensions on the front pages, and along with auto-enrolment, finally made people start to think about their old age.

Fears abounded in the run-up to pension freedoms that pensioners – or near pensioners – would be irresponsible with their money. Apart from a few anecdotal instances soon after pension freedoms launched in April 2015, it appears that those accessing their pensions are being reasonably cautious.

Those with small pension pots are using some of their money to pay off debts – arguably getting themselves into a better financial situation – while some are using it for home improvements.

But as the year has gone on, what has become apparent is that after the initial euphoria of ‘breaking free’ from annuitisation, many pensioners are thinking that they would actually like some certainty.

It does not matter that in the months after George Osborne’s announcement, many companies saw their annuity sales fall off a cliff, and several businesses had to merge – Just Retirement and Partnership, for example.

Since the end of last year, annuity sales have started to make a comeback, as the virtue of having a secure income is starting to become more obvious.

Uncertain stock markets have made people realise that putting everything into income drawdown has its drawbacks, and that once the money has gone, it is very difficult to make it back through stock market performance.

Investors are starting to realise that pensions and investments are a complicated business.

But the solution over the long-term appears to be one involving a combination of products - a mixture of drawdown and annuities, in any type of combination, and what this means is that clients, even if they choose a safer option, have to take responsibility and make a decision.

If that gets people more engaged with their long-term financial futures, then that must be a good thing, despite the tax windfall expected by HM Treasury in the short term.

Melanie Tringham is features editor on Financial Adviser