What is a pension bridge and should I take it?

Many people retiring from a defined benefit pension before sixty-five are offered a bridge benefit, a temporary top-up meant to fill the gap until government benefits begin, and they are not always sure what to make of it. This piece unpacks what a pension bridge actually is and how to weigh whether to take it. Rather than treating it as a standalone math problem, Allan frames the decision around your whole lifetime lifestyle, how the bridge interacts with when you start other income, and what role insurance and survivor considerations play. The point is that the right call depends on the shape of your retirement, not on a single feature of the pension viewed in isolation. It is useful reading for anyone with a workplace defined benefit plan approaching an early retirement date who wants to understand how a bridge fits the bigger picture before signing the paperwork.