Over the next few months a boom is expected in the number of people taking their pensions early as they rush to beat a change in the minimum age. Next April, the age at which you can draw on a private pension will rise from 50 to 55, which is likely to prompt many people to try to beat the deadline.
While Legal & General usually sells about 13% of its annuities to under-55s, this year that proportion has grown to 16%, and could rise further if this age group decides to take the plunge before the deadline.
Many pensions savers aged between 50 and 55 who are unaware of the rule change could miss out. According to research last week from the risk and benefits management firm Aon Consulting, only a quarter of UK workers are aware of the new rule.
Drawing a pension so early, however, would be impractical for many, though the argument for early retirement can be powerful.
"If the amounts are acceptable, there is a good argument for starting [to draw it] sooner rather than later," says Edinburgh-based actuary Ronnie Sloan. There's a widespread assumption annuity rates for fiftysomethings are not great - in fact, they are relatively good. A 50-year-old single woman who doesn't smoke, with £100,000 to spend on an annuity, would get £451 a month on the best flat-rate annuity. She would have to live to 69 to get her £100,000 back.
If her 55-year-old sister started a similar annuity, she would get £474 a month, and would have to live to 72 to recover her £100,000. Their 70-year-old sister would get the higher monthly sum of £630 but would have to draw it to the age of 83 to break even.
The attraction of the youngest sister's option is that 25% of a pension fund can usually be taken as a tax-free lump sum. Some people will use that to pay off their mortgage or invest in their business and then try to save as much of the annuity income as possible.
For those not wanting to take an annuity, there is also the option of a drawdown pension - allowing you to postpone taking an annuity, keep the bulk of your pension invested but take up to 25% of your fund as tax-free cash.
People taking these decisions may feel they are gambling with their future. They'd be right: they are being forced to guess what will happen on investment returns, inflation, general mortality rates and their own life expectancy. But some may feel it is worth the risk.