Under the Finance Act 2004, the only type of pension that can be drawn by a member of a registered pension scheme (www.practicallaw.com/5-201-6474) that is a defined benefit scheme (www.practicallaw.com/0-107-7545). In a money purchase scheme (www.practicallaw.com/0-107-6857), the member must be offered the choice to buy a lifetime annuity (www.practicallaw.com/1-207-2099). Among other conditions, a scheme pension must be payable for life and payments must be made at least annually. Starting to draw a scheme pension counts as a benefit crystallisation event 2 (www.practicallaw.com/8-380-7454).