What is an increasing annuity?

Inflation means that prices are always rising. To protect your retirement income being eroded by inflation, you can choose an annuity designed to increase each year. There are two main choices:

• Escalating Annuities – your income is guaranteed to increase at a fixed rate each year, commonly 3% or 5%.
• RPI-linked Annuities – your income is adjusted each year to reflect changes in the Retail Prices Index (RPI) – the main measure of inflation.

With an increasing annuity, the starting income is lower than you would get from a level annuity. For example, for a man aged 65, the starting income from a 5% escalating annuity might be two-thirds or less of the amount from a level annuity. It could take more than 10 years for the escalating income to catch up, and nearly 20 years before the total that you would have received from the escalating annuity exceeded the total from a level annuity.

Explore your options

Many people assume that they have to buy a life annuity from the company that has held their pension. This is not the case. You have the right to shop around for the best pension life annuity rates when you retire – it’s called the Open Market Option (OMO). Worryingly, figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that 61 per cent of people who bought a life annuity in 2007 did not shop around in this way.

Get the best deal by shopping around

There are huge differences between the level pension life annuity rates offered by the various life annuity providers – which shows that you should use the Open Market Option.

The Open Market Option Explained

Did you know that 65% of people, in todays market, still purchase annuities from the provider that they have also saved their pension with. (Source: Reuters)

Perhaps most of them didn’t realise that they could choose any annuity provider. Perhaps they thought it wouldn’t make much difference, or simply couldn’t be bothered. But whatever the reason, most of those people will have ended up with a lower retirement income than they could now be enjoying.

If the thought of having to research the market and compare companies puts you off, don’t let it! That’s what Compare-Annuity.com is here for: to take all the hassle and effort out of finding the best annuity. Just click here to fill out our simple no-obligation form. We’ll put you in touch with a specialist Independent Financial Advisor who can research the market for you and find a quote. Being independent, your adviser is not tied to any particular company and can give you impartial and objective advice.

Buying an annuity is one of the most important financial decisions of your life. It decides how much money you will receive during your retirement – and therefore, what sort of lifestyle you will have. To get the best possible retirement income, it’s vital to choose the right annuity.

If you’re not sure which annuity is right for you, we can help. A scheme such as Phased Retirement or Pension Drawdown could be more beneficial to you, for instance. Fill out our easy no-obligation form by clicking here and we will put you in touch with an expert adviser who can tell you what’s best for you.

Checklist

Follow these tips to get the most from your annuity

1. Choose the best option. Shop around for the best pension annuity rates using the open market option rather than accepting what your pension company offers.
2. Get advice from an independent financial adviser who specialises in annuities before you make your decision.
3. Think about inflation: it might be low today, but that might not always be the case in the future. You can inflation-proof your annuity by having it increase in line with price rises, although you’ll start off with a lower income than if you’d chosen a level rate.

You may qualify for an enhanced or impaired life annuity

If you can answer yes to any of the following questions you may be able to obtain a higher income:

• Do you regularly smoke cigarettes?
• Do you take regular medication?
• Have you ever been hospitalised for a medical conditions

Get free no-obligation independent financial advice regarding Increasing Annuities – just complete our no obligation pension form and we’ll compare the UK market and find you the best increasing annuity packages for you right now!