I have recently received a couple of Personal Illustrations for my small Pension Pot of just in excess of 40k.

1. I chose to take a 25% tax free lump sum.
2. I asked for a enhanced (Medical Conditions) Illustration.
3. With a 10 year (Maximum allowed) guarantee period.

My Tax free lump sum would give me around 10k, and leave me with an annual (enhanced) annuity (Pension) of around £2000 per year or £40 per week. A UNenhanced Pension for me is only around £1500 per year or £30 per week.

I calculate that I need to live 15 years before I get all the money I have invested - approximately 30k - which will mean I need to live until I am 78, and then the Pension Company will need to pay my annuity (Pension) out of their funds.

Of course, I could choose not to take ANY lump sum, which would then mean I would need to live another 5 years till I am 83 before I see MY 40k investment end, and the Pension Company then use their funds to pay my Pension.

Now we need to keep in mind from April 2015, I can withdraw ALL of my Pension pot; 25% Tax free leaving me with 30k Taxable which would leave me with a Total Cash pot of approximately 24k plus my lump sum = 34k. So if I use my Cash pot as a Pension of 2k per year, I would need to live until I am 80 before it's used up, but if I get a life-threatening illness before those 17 years, I can use the Cash pot as I want, and NOT have the Pension Company benefit from it for their profits.

Now as I see it, put in simple terms, the bigger your Cash Pot, the longer you need to live before you get your investment back, and the choice comes down to:

Do you want the Pension Company to be in control of YOUR money or do YOU want to regain control of YOUR money. For me - who has had 2 previous serious illnesses - I think it's a No-brainer.

I would suggest everyone who has a Pension Pot contacts a Company name of http://www.justretirement.com/, who will give you an entirely free Personal Annuity Illustration. They are NOT Financial Advisers, this Illustration will go a long way to helping you decide what's best for you, as everyone's situation is different.