Aged 40? Expect to work till you're 70 However, we are all living longer and the economic conditions mean that annuity rates are extremely low. To demonstrate the impact of this it is worth thinking that someone wanting to have income in line with the above will need a fund that is sufficient to purchase an annuity of £12,000. A £100,000 fund for a 65 year old male or female on typical market rates will provide an annuity of £5,830 on a single life basis with level payments. On that basis, to get an income of £12,000 a year you will need a fund of £205,832. However, some experts take different views. Steve Bee of Paradigm Pensions said: "A 10-year retirement these days doesn't really cost a lot more to fund than a ten-year retirement would have cost many decades ago. When people talk of it costing more to buy an annuity what they're really saying is that it costs more to fund a longer retirement. If as age expectancy rises we expect longer and longer potential retirements then we should really expect to put more aside to fund those extra years. I'm not at all sure that talking about this issue in terms of pensions costing more or annuities being worse value is all that helpful. And Billy Burrows of the Better Retirement Group pointed out that pensioners no longer need to spend three quarters of their savings on an annuity but can instead leave their fund invested and retire with an income drawdown scheme: "The annuity problem is that people need to plan long term about retirement but they think short term This means that investors should consider investment linked options rather than locking into low interest rates. It does involve taking some investment risk but the parodox is that unless people take some risk they risk not having sufficient income. If you want to know when you will receive your state pension click here. You can also get an official calculation of what that state pension is likely to be by clicking here. Alternatively, you can request a written statement by calling 0845 3000 168 or writing to the Future Pension Centre, Department for Work and Pensions, Tyneview Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE98 1BA.