Yet it is one of the biggest financial mysteries that so few people shop around for their pension when they retire be they male or female. Through ignorance, lack of advice or poor quality information, around 40 per cent still take the annuity/ pension income offered by their existing pension company.
The detriment suffered by investors throughout their retirement as a result can be considerable. Take the case of a 65-year-old man with £50,000 of savings. The difference between the best and worst pensions on the market at the moment for a healthy male is over 13% and the total cost of effecting the wrong choice over a 20 year lifespan would be £8880.
So why do so many people simply take the pension on offer from the existing provider? Some may have failed to realise the full implications of the decision, others may be so well-off that the difference is meaninglessly small to them. Then there are those who have such a small amount of pension savings that nobody else wants their business leaving them even more impoverished in retirement.
The ABI has been working on improving the information going out to those approaching retirement, but responsibility does not just lay with the insurance industry - although it must take a large share of the blame for failing to produce clear literature.
But there is also a responsibility with the consumer. The industry can only do so much to persuade people to look for a better deal. If the investor cannot be bothered to pick up the phone to speak to an adviser or trawl the internet, then perhaps they are getting no more nor less than they deserve.