£100k for an annuity, what rate should I look for?

feesarefare

dunstonh wrote: »

You are the one that decided to pick apart what I said in post 18 with your interpretation of that. However, at no point have I said to leave the client with a number of choices.

Sp what did you mean in post 22 then? Sadly I read it to mean that if they were making an "informed decision", they were therefore being left with a choice?

feesarefare

Domain.Rider wrote: »

A quick comment on the online annuity tables - especially the FSA website tables. When I looked for an annuity recently, I checked these tables and picked the best rate from them. When I went to my IFA for confirmation, he checked the rates on his system and found that several of the FSA table rates were incorrect (out of date?). He found me a rate much better than the top rate on the FSA tables.

So which option did you decide to go for?

Domain.Rider

feesarefare wrote: »

So which option did you decide to go for?

I chose the higher rate option (as found by my IFA). It seemed prudent to chose more income rather than less...

It was good timing, because they dropped their rates shortly after, as did other top rate providers.

feesarefare

Domain.Rider wrote: »

I chose the higher rate option (as found by my IFA). It seemed prudent to chose more income rather than less...

Yep...not exactly rocket science is it:D

jamesd

Yes, checking the rates yourself to get an idea of what's available and then going to an IFA to get the best deal is probably the best combination. It's particularly important if there's anything wrong health-wise, from being overweight to drinking or smoking, because those things can get higher annuity payouts and those deals are generally not made available to the general public on comparison sites.

ajw1100

Gentlemen, its been a long day, a very long day and I will read your posts tomorrow.
In the mean time can I just say that unless I (And my wife) fell asleep during the only meeting with my IFA to discuss what to do with my pot there was no specific recommendations either in general terms or terms based upon my circumstances. He told me what an annuity was and what income drawdown was, said he was playing Devils Advocate and ended with saying something like when I had decided what I wanted to let him know and he would get the rates. As previously stated he emailed me a few Money Made Clear booklets. I said I could not make a decision unless he gave me some idea of yearly return to which he sent me some various rates, single & joint with level, 3%, 5%, & RPI for each plus one rate for drawdown. At this point he said he had got a higher rate but didn't include it as he did not know the company. I asked who the higher rate was from and am still waiting for a reply, likewise who the stated rates were from.

I have since filled in a Fact File detailing my income of around £5 pcm and outgoings, he had listed all my savings, investments etc already but as yet, around a week later he has not come back and said
"Based on the information you provided I recommend you go for XXX with YY"
I will give him a couple more days and then ask the "IF I was your Dad what would you recommend" question.

My wife has decided she has enough pension and savings and has agreed that I should go for a single XXX with a minimum 10 year payment, with XXX being what ever was best for me. I have a fair amount of cash/invested saving which would pass to her after I snuffed it plus she would have the house to sell and then downsize.

Do you think I would be wasting my time completeing online rate forms? Most seem to want all your contact details (In order to try to get you to buy their product I assume) Pity there is not a website like Compare the Market for annuities. I will try the h-l site and see what results I get.

Cautious_Investor_3

ajw1100 wrote: »

My wife has decided she has enough pension and savings and has agreed that I should go for a single XXX with a minimum 10 year payment, with XXX being what ever was best for me. I have a fair amount of cash/invested saving which would pass to her after I snuffed it plus she would have the house to sell and then downsize.

Do you think I would be wasting my time completeing online rate forms? Most seem to want all your contact details (In order to try to get you to buy their product I assume) Pity there is not a website like Compare the Market for annuities. I will try the h-l site and see what results I get.

Hi

It is always important you get your own quotes before hand, and then, as james said, go to the IFA and get them to get an even better deal.

The link I posted to before, which I've given again I have used myself on behalf of a relative, I gave some details and eventually the relative used them as they got the provider to move on the rate and got a decent deal, however there is no reason why you have to put your real contact details into the calculator

http://www.!!!!!!.uk/free-services/annuity-calculator/

By the way, just because your OH has had enough of the process really isn't a good enough reason to go for a single life annuity, she may just regret this after you are gone :A

I hope this helps

The Cautious Investor

dunstonh

In the mean time can I just say that unless I (And my wife) fell asleep during the only meeting with my IFA to discuss what to do with my pot there was no specific recommendations either in general terms or terms based upon my circumstances.

Earlier in the thread it appeared you were not getting a good response from the IFA. It now appears you were expecting too much in the first meeting. The first meeting is often a basic concept and ideas and greet and meet to see if advice is needed and if its of benefit to use the IFA. You can't do much in the way of getting an illustration of benefits until a factfind (and common quotation from where factfind doesnt contain the same data) is completed.

I will give him a couple more days and then ask the "IF I was your Dad what would you recommend" question.

Does it matter what his dad would do? His dad may have very different circumstances. Often IFAs recommend transactions that they themselves would not do. What is financially the best is not always the recommended option as the person has to be able to understand the advice given. If they have no interest in it and inclination to understand then going with a more basic option then becomes best advice even though financially it may not be best.

My wife has decided she has enough pension and savings and has agreed that I should go for a single XXX with a minimum 10 year payment, with XXX being what ever was best for me. I have a fair amount of cash/invested saving which would pass to her after I snuffed it plus she would have the house to sell and then downsize.

Which basically follows on from what I just said. Your wife doesnt appear to be interested in going with the financially best option. Just a simple option (which may be best, but may not be).

Do you think I would be wasting my time completeing online rate forms? Most seem to want all your contact details (In order to try to get you to buy their product I assume)

Yes. Use the FSA tables and let the IFA come in better than those. No point getting illustrations from a limited number of providers who will come in the same or lower than what the IFA will. You cant rely on the FSA tables but you can use them as a guide for the IFA to beat.

Pity there is not a website like Compare the Market for annuities.

It would be a nightmare. Given the issues quote portals have with focusing on premiums for home insurance and life assurance and things being left off to improve premium, using it for annuities with very many more options would just be a recipe for disaster for a lot of people. Especially as its something that cannot be undone later. You have to get it right first time. Plus, the pricing of annuities would likely be better with IFAs than a quote portal. So, there would be nothing to gain. Probably why you dont see them doing them already. The very few sites that do offer an online service tend to only offer a limited panel and based on past comments by people that have checked, the local IFA has beaten the likes of HL on pricing.

ajw1100

Dunstonh wrote

Quote:
In the mean time can I just say that unless I (And my wife) fell asleep during the only meeting with my IFA to discuss what to do with my pot there was no specific recommendations either in general terms or terms based upon my circumstances.
Earlier in the thread it appeared you were not getting a good response from the IFA. It now appears you were expecting too much in the first meeting. The first meeting is often a basic concept and ideas and greet and meet to see if advice is needed and if its of benefit to use the IFA. You can't do much in the way of getting an illustration of benefits until a factfind (and common quotation from where factfind doesnt contain the same data) is completed.

I have had many face to face meetings with my IFA, he knew my situation, and all my funds as he manages the portfolio and my savings. I would have thought that as he was the one to suggest the annuity he could have, knowing me and my position recommended a course of action that he thought fitted my position.

Quote:
I will give him a couple more days and then ask the "IF I was your Dad what would you recommend" question.
Does it matter what his dad would do? His dad may have very different circumstances. Often IFAs recommend transactions that they themselves would not do. What is financially the best is not always the recommended option as the person has to be able to understand the advice given. If they have no interest in it and inclination to understand then going with a more basic option then becomes best advice even though financially it may not be best.

Perhaps I should have added 'Given the same circumstances and funds' to the end of the IF I was your Dad question. I would have assumed he would appreciate I was not his Dad but would have realised I wanted the best he could do for me. Sorry if this confused
the issue.

What is financially the best is not always the recommended option as the person has to be able to understand the advice given.

This reminded me of my maths teacher, he put loads of figures on a blackboard, said see page 23 and sat down (without any explanation). Another teacher did the same but explained what the figures meant so we could understand the figures and page 23. We were then able to learn something.

Quote:
My wife has decided she has enough pension and savings and has agreed that I should go for a single XXX with a minimum 10 year payment, with XXX being what ever was best for me. I have a fair amount of cash/invested saving which would pass to her after I snuffed it plus she would have the house to sell and then downsize.
Which basically follows on from what I just said. Your wife doesnt appear to be interested in going with the financially best option. Just a simple option (which may be best, but may not be).

Exactly my problem, What may be the best option and what may not be the best option, which I think is where I came in (So to speak)

Use the FSA tables and let the IFA come in better than those. No point getting illustrations from a limited number of providers who will come in the same or lower than what the IFA will. You cant rely on the FSA tables but you can use them as a guide for the IFA to beat.

I have used the link kindly given by the cautious investor, and I appreciate the quotes given are a guide only and further in depth information will be needed but based on the same basic information the website came back with a higher rate level annuity and this was with a 10 year guarantee, whereas my IFA rate was less for a level annuity. I will of course use this figure and benefit to get him to do more research and better his last offer.

using it for annuities with very many more options would just be a recipe for disaster for a lot of people. Especially as its something that cannot be undone later. You have to get it right first time.

I never realised there were so many options, which is why I am looking for the right ingredients so my recipe works and is right first time, the only way I know is to ask questions and along the way I am bound to ask a wrong question or two. Why? Because simply I am learning what comes as second nature to you. As is said the questions are simple as long as you know the answer.