One of the two ways in which a member of a defined contribution arrangement under a registered pension scheme can take drawdown pension (the other being income withdrawal). An annuity is a short-term annuity if it is bought from an insurance company using all or part of the member's flexi-access fund and is payable for no longer than five years. Until 6 April 2015, it was not permitted for a short-term annuity to decrease from one year to the next, but this requirement does not apply from 6 April 2015. (Paragraph 6, Schedule 28, Finance Act 2004.)