Put a pension to work

GEOFFREY BERNSTEIN, the actuarial firm, is offering a fee- based service to find the best annuity when the time comes to convert a pension into income.

For pounds 350 plus VAT the service will scan 50 insurance companies, including those that do not pay commission. If an annuity is chosen which pays commission, normally 1 per cent, this will be rebated.

Many people assume mistakenly they have to take their pension from the same company with which they used to invest their pension money.

A 65-year-old man with pounds 100,000 for a pension, for example, would have got pounds 11,653 a year with Pearl Assurance and pounds 11,183 from Scottish Widows.

Geoffrey Bernstein, 162 Regent's Park Road, London NW3 3HT, 081-346 0707.