§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he will allow the taking of annuities at any age up to 75 years for the purposes of assessing the proposed pension credit entitlement. [26018]
§ Mr. McCartneyA personal pension may be taken from age 50, but an annuity must be purchased by age 75.
The income from an annuity purchased from a pension fund is treated in the same way as other second pensions within the minimum income guarantee.
Currently, if a person over 60 has not taken an annuity he is treated as having the income he could obtain if he used his pension fund to buy an annuity.
We intend to adopt a similar approach in pension credit.