Many people accept the annuity offered by their pension provider, but our experience shows that if you shop around you could get up to 30% more per month from your annuity.
We will help you compare annuity rates from leading providers and make the most of your hard earned savings. We also reduce the normal commission paid by over 50% to further increase the income from your annuity.
We ask questions about your health and lifestyle to try and get even more out of your savings. Medical conditions, whether you smoke or not, your height and weight can all potentially increase the income you can get from your pension savings.
See what The Guardian has to say about our service and have a look at this independent report by the Financial Services Consumer Panel.
Proudly independent and impartial working with our trusted annuity partners
An annuity is a retirement income product that you can purchase with the savings you have accumulated in your pension. You don’t have to use all your savings and the money can come from more than one pension.
In most cases your annuity will pay you a fixed income for the rest of your life. Once you have purchased your annuity, the choices you have made are generally irreversible so it’s really important to get the best deal possible.
Different types of annuities are available however we focus on the lifetime annuity which guarantees a fixed regular income for the rest of your life. We’ll explain the different types of annuities further down this page along with the different options available.
No you don’t. As of the start of the 2015/16 tax year the Government announced ‘pension freedom’. This means anyone over the age of 55 can take their private pension savings as a lump sum. You’ll get the first 25% tax free but pay tax on the rest at your normal income tax rate.
Whilst ‘pension freedom’ has given people the option to take the cash from their pensions, the reality is that most are looking for a secure guaranteed income for life, from at least some of their savings. This is why an annuity is still such a valuable part of retirement income planning.
You could, but you might be missing out on up to 30% additional income.
It takes us less than 24 hours to supply you with an individually tailored quote and we hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much more you can get for your money.
In the unlikely event your provider is still offering you the best deal you can of course accept it.
We will use your details to compare the annuity providers below and will provide you with a detailed report of which provider can offer you the highest level of income based on your individual circumstances.
We will not use your details for any other purposes. We won’t try and sell you anything else, we won’t send you any marketing e-mails and we will never pass your information to anyone else. The only exception to this is when we are giving your information to an annuity provider for the sole purpose of providing a quote.
You can choose to receive payments monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually. You can also be paid in advance or in arrears. Normally if you opt to be paid in arrears you will receive slightly higher payments.
Yes, the income from your annuity is taxable and HMRC will treat this like any other taxable income, including your State Pension. If your total income, including your annuity income, exceeds the personal allowance, it’ll be taxable.
If you have chosen a single life annuity and have opted not to have a ‘guaranteed period’ your income payments will stop. We will explain the options for joint life annuities and guarantee periods later in this FAQ section.
Yes it can. This is known as a joint life annuity. When you die, the income would continue to be paid to a person of your choice. This can be your spouse, partner or a chosen beneficiary.
You choose how much of your original income payments should continue to be paid. As an example you could opt for 100% of the payments to continue. Bear in mind the higher percentage you choose, the lower your annuity payments will be. We can quote for different variations so you can see the effect on your retirement income.
This is the length of time your annuity is guaranteed to be paid even if you die during the earlier years of the plan.
For example, lets say someone buys a single life annuity with no guaranteed period and then dies five years later. Income payments from the annuity would stop immediately and the annuity provider would keep the rest of the money. If the same annuity had been purchased with a 10 year guaranteed period, income payments would have continued for another 5 years.
You will however find that the level of income is reduced if you opt for a guaranteed period. The longer the guaranteed period, the lower the income payments. The amount of income is fixed from the start and does not change.
Your income is fully protected by the FSCS if anything were to happen to your provider. You can read more about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme on their website.
All providers will give a 30 day cooling off period. This gives you a chance to change your mind and cancel your annuity.
However it’s important to understand that this 30 day period starts at different times depending on the provider. Some start the 30 days once your policy document is issued, whereas others start from the date you sign the application form. This information will be confirmed in the providers key facts document. Please contact us if you would like to know a specific providers cancellation terms.
