Retirement planning gets discussed almost entirely in terms of accumulation: how much to save, in what, for how long. The conversion decision receives a fraction of that attention, despite being permanent.
Accumulation
The corpus needs to cover an income for as long as you live, adjusted for inflation over what may be a thirty-year retirement. Starting early is worth more than optimising returns later — the arithmetic of compounding is unforgiving about lost decades.
Conversion
At vesting, the corpus is converted into an annuity. The option you choose determines whether income continues for your spouse, whether the purchase price returns to your nominee, and whether payments rise over time. Rates are locked at purchase and cannot be improved later.
The mistake to avoid
Accepting the default annuity option from the same insurer that held the accumulation, without comparing. Rates differ meaningfully between insurers, and the difference is locked in for life.
The health cover point
Retirement usually ends employer health cover at exactly the age when individual cover becomes hardest to obtain. Arrange personal health insurance well before you need it.