Smoking and Retirement

davidgreenwood

Quitting smoking is good. However, the only time in your life you benefit as a smoker is when you buy your annuity from a private pension fund accumulated. Annuity providers dont expect you to live long so you get a much better rate. I quitted six months after arranging my annuity. I want the maximum from them !

Stompa

Out of curiousity how do they check that you really are a smoker? Do they just take your word for it?

Stompa

dunstonh

The providers can make checks before commencement (just like life assurance) or they can, if they have any reason to doubt it, make checks in the future. It doesnt take much to confirm if somoene is a smoker or not.

If you make a false declaration, the company can make a case against you for fraud plus they can cancel the annuity and confiscate the payments.

It should also be noted that someone stopping smoking shortly after commencement of an annuity could lose the benefits. This issue was raised in the house of lords in Oct 04 as to whether companies could and should be able to do it. It was left as something that they should follow up but I cannot find anything in Hansards to say that they did.

Stonk

Also.

Take up a dangerous sport before buying your annuity.
Then don't participate in it very much.

black-saturn

dunstonh wrote:

It doesnt take much to confirm if somoene is a smoker or not.

How do they do that then?