pension lump sum

dunstonh

I wouldn't have thought an IFA would help as i'm only talking about small amounts see earlier figures.

Its not big but its still around £300-£600 for an IFA. A busy IFA or a high net worth IFA may not be interested but a village based IFA or one having a quiet week wouldnt be likely to refuse to offer.

All three of the providers you have will pay an IFA if its best to leave it with them. If its best to move it, the new provider will pay the IFA. Its effectively a nil cost option for you.

oxocubes

jamesd wrote: »

One big reason for seeing an IFA is that the insurance companies that operate pension schemes will only offer you their own annuity to pay the ongoing income.

Last week I asked Standard Life for a pension estmate and they advised me that Aviva offered the best annuity rate. Seems they're cutting out the middle man or am I being conned.

jamesd wrote: »

If you have anything that could affect how long you might live, from being overweight through smoking or having a diagnosed medical condition like heart trouble the difference can be much larger.

Standard Life also advised me that enhanced annuity rates are only available to people with specific illnesses/diseases. In my case, I'm 8 stone over weight, stopped smoking 60 a day 18 months ago, I have high blood pressure and osteo arthrits. They advised none of these conditions would entitle me to enhanced annuity rates - am I being led up the garden path?:)

dunstonh

Last week I asked Standard Life for a pension estmate and they advised me that Aviva offered the best annuity rate. Seems they're cutting out the middle man or am I being conned.

You are being conned. Standard Life are not in a position to offer whole of market. Aviva are pretty good on standard terms and you expect them to be in the top 3 most of the time but there is no way you can say they offer the best annuity rate.

Standard life are not cutting out the middle man. They still have one. Their sales team. They get paid the money that the IFA gets (middleman as you call it). You just get an inferior service.

Standard Life also advised me that enhanced annuity rates are only available to people with specific illnesses/diseases. In my case, I'm 8 stone over weight, stopped smoking 60 a day 18 months ago, I have high blood pressure and osteo arthrits. They advised none of these conditions would entitle me to enhanced annuity rates - am I being led up the garden path?:)

You are being led up the garden path. High blood pressure (especially if linked with high cholestoral) is accepted. Overweight and recent smoker are taken in to account (even more so if you were advised to stop smoking by a doctor).

You are being fobbed off by a sales force that is going to get paid the same as an IFA doing the job correctly. To suggest cutting out the middle man is lies. You just need to read the Std Life disclaimer:

We'd always recommend that you seek financial advice before transferring a pension. If you do not have a financial adviser, we have a team of experts in Standard Life Direct who will be able to help you. Call us on 0845 60 60 191. Call charges may vary, and calls may be recorded/monitored. Standard Life Direct is provided by Standard Life Client Management Limited which advises on, and sells products from, subsidiaries of Standard Life plc and some external providers.

Standard Life have a limited panel of providers on annuities. You are being lied to by a sales person operating on a lower remit. That sales person becomes the middle man. You should never use direct sales forces.

jamesd

oxocubes wrote: »

Last week I asked Standard Life for a pension estmate and they advised me that Aviva offered the best annuity rate. Seems they're cutting out the middle man or am I being conned.

If you were in perfect health you would be being misled a little. That's probably not the best possible standard rate, they are just trying to get the commission for themselves by making an offer from one of their limited range of partners.

It's completely unsuitable for you given your health factors. You shouldn't consider it, it's clearly the wrong choice for you.

oxocubes wrote: »

Standard Life also advised me that enhanced annuity rates are only available to people with specific illnesses/diseases.

Maybe for the products they are authorised to sell but that's not true in general. Besides, you have several conditions/diseases that routinely do result in higher payouts from products available in the whole market, so you're being misled.

oxocubes wrote: »

In my case, I'm 8 stone over weight, stopped smoking 60 a day 18 months ago, I have high blood pressure and osteo arthrits. They advised none of these conditions would entitle me to enhanced annuity rates - am I being led up the garden path?:)

You're being led up the garden path. You clearly have conditions that would get you a higher annuity rate than offered by a normal annuity and it's vital that you get advice from an IFA who can check the market properly for you. You are sure to lose money if you take the options that Standard Life are offering.

Did you mention to Standard Life the things that you've mentioned here? If so, you should really be complaining to them about poor handling of your case. You have obvious red flags in your health that should alert anyone in the business that you are not a suitable person to sell a standard annuity to. But this can wait until you see what a decent IFA can do for you.