Flexibility

The biggest advantage of direct property investment over a regular pension is flexibility. With a pension you must adhere to rules about when and how you can benefit from it ie there is a minimum retirement age and at the end of the day the pension fund must be liquidated to purchase an annuity.

If you have built a portfolio of properties, you have the flexibility to alter your priorities to suit changing needs. For example, if later you decide you need more income, then you can dispose of one or more properties and use the capital as lump sum income or to reduce overall mortgage debt thereby generating more on-going income.

Your family will also thank you for opting for a property pension instead of a regular pension. At present, if you die one week after you retire then your entire lifetime of contributions to your pension fund ‘vanishes’. However, on death, property is part of your estate and can be passed on to your family in the normal way.