Being my money, why under UK law do I have to byuy an annuity with my pension fund in the end?

Seeing as annuities keep your money, and pay little more than 1% above a bank deposit account:

Why should I have to make a compulsory gift to an insurance company? And if I so wish, why can I not manage my own money myself?

Unless Alistair Darling uses YA, nobody's going to be able to give you a good reason for that one.

Because the government don't trust us. I think you can put it off to your 75.

Because you have received tax relief on the contributions on the basis that you were going to invest the money in a pension.

Presumably because most people (myself probably included) would not bother to save throughout the majority of their working lives leaving the Government in the unenviable position of having to provide for those whom have contributed nothing to their own support in old age.

I do not mind National Insurance contributions personally. It is income tax which really bloody annoys me. Purely for the reason that I know a large percentage of what I pay is siphoned off to the underclass whom cannot be bothered doing anything remotely productive and instead focus upon rearing myriads of their horrid offspring.

Because that is the rule of pension schemes. You need to buy an annuity with the total value of your pension (after any lump sum you may choose to receive) to get a pension for the rest of your life. Pension schemes (apart from the state scheme) are not compulsory. If you don't want to contribute to a scheme, then just save money for your retirement in a bank account, but unless you become super rich, it will not become enough to provide you with a monthly premium for life. I think you are being a bit short sighted about this as the opportunity to pay into a pension scheme is widely considered a benefit in the long run. I don't know your age but you need to provide for your financial future now as it will come sooner than you think. Best wishes.

Because if you took the money and spent it you would be able to claim various 'benefits' and the government does not want you to do that!
RoyS

The government's answer is because they have provided tax relief on the premiums. But it's an old boy net thing between Whitehall and those bookies' runners in the City.

By the way, shop around for your annuity and, if you are a smoker, you can get very high rates. You can also use it to buy property, land or a business. I bought two scrap yards with some of mine.