just take or shop around

panny300

finally decided to cash in a frozen pension i'm 57,it only has a £32,000 pot
it's with friends provident and they have told me i can have £8,000 cash and a pension of £930 pounds a year.
is it worth shopping around or are they all going to be around this amount due to the pot being so small?

Aegis

You can probably do better with an open market option. I say that because you can almost always do better than accepting the default annuity.

jamesd

Do you have anything that might reduce how long you live? Things like smoking, being overweight, diabetes or anything else? Things like that can increase the amount of income that you get from an annuity but the normal first offers are not for these "enhanced" or "impaired life" annuities. If this applies it's even more important not to take the first offer.

Did you know that you can take the lump sum but not buy an annuity if you don't want to? Just transfer to a place that offers something called "income drawdown" and you can set how much income to take from the 75% between nothing and up to about 4.4% of the value. How much you can take out increases with age. It also depends on the interest rate of 15 year UK government bonds, which ar near record lows at the moment, it'll go up when those go back to normal. The limit is adjusted every three years from when you start this, if you choose this option.

dunstonh

finally decided to cash in a frozen pension i'm 57,it only has a £32,000 pot

A pension cannot be cashed in. A frozen pension would not have a fund value. What it sounds like is that you want to commence a personal pension.

is it worth shopping around or are they all going to be around this amount due to the pot being so small?

An IFA would easily be able to beat FP.

panny300

thanks for your helpful replys.
where do i start to find the best options,do i just contact companys myself,is there a comparison site like insurance,or use a financial advisor.
what would be considered reasonable fees that an advisor would charge.

GhIFA

Speak to an IFA, they will be able to obtain better rates. Different advisers will have different levels of charges and it will depend on how straightforward or otherwise your situation is as to how much it will cost. The IFA will disclose their charges at outset.

zagfles

Suggest you get quotes from several IFAs, don't just see one. Their charges vary a great deal, just like annuity rates, so shop around.

dunstonh

where do i start to find the best options,do i just contact companys myself,is there a comparison site like insurance,or use a financial advisor.

Most companies wont transact with you direct. Those that do typically only have their own product or limited panel and set the commission at equal or higher than using an IFA. Do not use an FA. It has to be an IFA.

mania112

To get the ball rolling, have a go with this

http://pluto.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/annuities

It'll show you what sort of Annuity you can expect with your pension pot.

If the results come out better than what you're currently being offered, you'll know you should speak to an IFA

SallyG

"quotes from several IFAs" ........... at £500 a quote?

dunstonh

SallyG wrote: »

"quotes from several IFAs" ........... at £500 a quote?

Under RDR, then that could easily be an outcome. Pre-RDR not likely.

It should also be noted that some providers have already moved to unisex rates but there are some left that have not. So, time is an issue. The more you see, the more you delay.