Things we don't like to talk about:101 - An extra helping for the Overweight

Eat more, Drink more and Smoke: My advice for those looking to maximise their pension....

If you’re Overweight, Smoke, have high blood pressure or other health issues, for once it’s a good thing, you might qualify for extra income from your pension in retirement potentially up to 40% more!

According to the Association of British Insurers 1 in every 2 people who retire could qualify for an enhanced annuity. Which means they could be losing out on extra income in their retirement by selecting a pension from their existing supplier when they retire.

The Technical Bit

WHAT IS AN ANNUITY?

Usually* when we retire we have to buy a product called an annuity, in simple terms this is where you give your pension savings to a company and they promise to pay you an income for the remainder of your life.

We don’t like to talk about it, but this income is based on statistics for life expectancy, and the healthier that you are the less money you’ll get. The one time in your life that someone will say “Smoking is good for you” is when you come to take your pension, the same is true of being overweight.

There are additional options that you can add such as an income for your spouse if you die, or if you want your income to increase with inflation each year. The starting income is based on the simple idea of a guaranteed level income for the rest of your life and each option you choose reduces the amount they will pay.  

OPEN MARKET OPTION – YOUR RIGHT TO SHOP AROUND

Clearly you can suppose that different companies might want to compete against each other to get your pension pot, by offering higher incomes. In 1978 the government introduced the right to shop around for your annuity, but unfortunately the statistics show that about 60% of people still don’t shop around, a process referred to as using “Open Market Option” By shopping around most people can typically get around 10 to 20% more income, which rises to around 40% more if they qualify for enhancement.

Open Market Option is very simple, all you need do is contact an Independent Financial Adviser, and they can check which options you want and find out who will give you the most income. An independent financial adviser can also see if you would qualify for enhanced annuities, statistically almost 70% of retirees would have qualified. That’s a huge amount of money lost each year, simply because of a lack of knowledge.

DALES Independent Financial Advisers, are independent financial advisers in Newark and Nottingham and can offer Independent retirement advice on taking your pension. Why not call DALES today to see how much more pension income you could get, through Open Market Option?

T: 0333 772 9607, T: 0115 832 0265 (Nottingham) or T:01636 87 00 69 (Newark). E: advice@pndales.co.uk.

*Until 6^th April 2011 everyone was forced to buy an annuity by the age of 75, now there is an alternative, but it involves risk and is not suitable for most people, for most people buying a “pension” when they retire is still going to be in effectively mandatory as the alternatives are unsuitable. Interestingly this is something that is in the news today, as the Pension minister Steve Webb speaking at the party conference, admitted that there are concerns that annuities may not be the right product for people in retirement and said the government needed to tackle the issue.

Philip Dales Dip PFS Certs CII (MP & ER)

Philip Dales is principal at DALES Independent Financial Advisers, based in Newark and Nottingham. He has been an adviser for over 16 years helping many clients with all aspects of financial planning, and retirement. For more information on this or any other aspect of financial advice contact t: 0333 772 9607.