4Golden Facts: Enhanced Annuities for Retirement Planning

Everyone deserves a little help when retirement planning, so it’s a great idea to talk to a professional about your options.

12:55 23 February 2013

There are a few things you should be aware of when you talk to an independent financial advisor (IFA). Many people assume that shopping for annuities is similar to shopping for insurance, and neglect to release all of their health information to an IFA. 

 

The IFA’s job is to help get you the best rates and plans available to you. If you neglect pertinent information, you may run into issues in the future, or you may not get the best rates available. 

•Make sure to inform your IFA of any and all health-related issues or concerns. This is one of those times where you can’t give too much information; everything helps right down to smoking and fitness habits.

 

•If you are considering a joint enhanced annuity, be sure to give the health details of both individuals. This makes sure that your IFA can take into consideration the collective health picture of you and your partner.

 

•Make sure that you receive multiple quotes for your enhanced annuity options. You should typically only have to fill out one questionnaire that is submitted to multiple companies. This is one of the great benefits of having an Independent Financial Advisor.

 

•If you do qualify for an enhanced annuity you should actually receive a higher annuity rate than if you didn’t qualify because companies presume they won’t need to make payments as long as they would for healthier individuals. This is why you’ll want to give any and all health details to your IFA.

 

Enhanced annuities are different than impaired-life annuities, so when retirement planning you may want to find out about both of those options and what differentiates the two. An enhanced annuity may offer you better benefits than your current pension scheme, so don’t hesitate to shop around.