subject: Are You Sure You're Getting The Highest Retirement Pension Annuity On The Market? [print this page] One thing to consider is what you may do about your income when you retire, including how to get the highest annuities.
A lot of people ignore the issue of pensions because they don't think they have the time, energy or knowledge to know how best to proceed.
But standing still and doing nothing is just about the worse thing one can do as it may result in you losing potential retirement income. The initial objective is to find out what is being offered from your current pension company. Once this is complete you can they weigh up which option is best for you.
There are a few options available about who to speak to with regard to your retirement annuity. In broad terms you have the option to consult with the following.... annuity providers, IFA's and pension specialists. Which one of these you choose will depend upon... the size of your pension fund and how much you want to spend on advice. Historically, a person with a fund under the value of 8,000 GBP will not need to pay for the services of an IFA which can charge 250 pounds per hour.
If you are still not certain about who to speak to it is worth noting that a broker of annuities can offer you everything you need to do without charging a penny. This is because they take a commission from the insurance company when you buy your annuity from them. So if you commission an IFA to work with you on this you could well find you are to all intense and purposes paying twice because of the commission. A further thing to be aware of is that a selection of IFA's will send applicants to their preferred provider who is not always offering the best deal.
After understanding this, you could now being saying to yourself.... why must I contrast annuity offers to get the best rates? Well, the reply to this is very straight forward... if you refuse to contrasts annuity offers you could well endure a smaller retirement income. The aggregate amount of lost money could even stretch as far as 46% of you first offer. You won't be shocked to learn then that plenty of retirees sorely regret not utilising their right to use the Open Market Option.
The principal reason why the elderly don't get these types of increases is that they were not offered what is known as an enhanced annuity. These are offered to people who have an illness or lifestyle choice which impacts on their life expectancy. A typical habit which would qualify one for a better annuity would be heavy drinking and also regular smoking of tobacco. Your typical medical conditions would be... Diabetes type 2, heart attack and brachycardia.
You're only given a single chance to find the right annuity, so it is vital that you do shop around the market to see who has the best deal for you.
Finally, also remember that you don't need to hire an Independent Financial Advisor if you don't want to, use an annuity broker instead.
