Annuity providers pay your adviser a commission for arranging an annuity.  The amount paid is usually around 2% of the amount used to buy the annuity.  So if you are buying a £20,000 annuity and the adviser gets paid £400 and this seems a reasonable amount of pay for the work involved.  But is this still reasonable if you have a £60,000 pension pot and the adviser gets paid £1,200 or more.    We offer a fixed priced service of £295 to arrange an annuity*. This means you can choose to recieve a higher...

A study by MGM Advantage (an annuity provider) has revealed the case for using the Open Market Option is stronger than ever. The Latest findings from the MGM Advantage Annuity Index1, which tracks the income paid on enhanced and conventional annuities on a quarterly basis The difference in retirement income between the top enhanced annuity rate and the bottom standard annuity rate is a staggering – 50.8% for men and 55.4% for women (for those aged 65+ with a £50k pension pot). Further findings from the...

Protected Rights are being scrapped from 6th April 2012: The current restrictions around protected rights will be removed from 6^th April 2012.  This means the money built up in your contracted out pension can be treated as a single fund with any other pension funds you may have. Here is a summary of the main changes:

1. The annuity no longer has to be provided on unisex rates.  Rates for men are likely to be higher, at least until the end of 2012 when new gender equality legislation will make all...

The current rates for a £50,000 annuity (level, paid monthly, in arrears) for a healthy 65 year old are: Male: £3,135 per annum (6.27%) Female: £3014 per annum (6.03%) So men get over 4% more, every year for life (because they are not supposed to live as long).  Unisex rates have not been set yet but they will drag the annuity rate men can get down (and female rates up, of course). Once the rules change it will be too late, so if you want to secure a "male" annuity rate, call us now.  We can work...