Annuity Services.

Trev_Smith

Has any one heard of, or had dealings with "Key Retirement Solutions Annuity Services"?
I have had information from them, from an online enquiry, but obviously do not know any thing about them.:beer:

dunstonh

They appear to be an online site for annuity purchase.

Typically, you find local IFAs come in with the best rates. So, try a local IFA instead.

Velcro_Hotdog

The online annuity brokers are just as good as a local IFA at getting good annuity rates but that's really all there is to their service. Many claim to offer advice but I suspect that any suitability report provided will be the same for you as their other clients with a few names and numbers tweaked to suit you.

Some offer a non advised service acting simply as a broker to get you the best annuity rate. A task they are usually pretty good at as they can cut out the cost of advice.

If you need advice and someone to shop around on your behalf use a local IFA

Trev_Smith

Thank you very much for both of your comments.:T

dunstonh

The online annuity brokers are just as good as a local IFA at getting good annuity rates but that's really all there is to their service.

Yet posters here have found their local IFAs getting better annuity rates. I had someone earlier in the year who got an online quote from one of the big ones and we came in higher. It was the haggle that made the difference.

bmm78

Velcro_Hotdog wrote: »

The online annuity brokers are just as good as a local IFA at getting good annuity rates but that's really all there is to their service. Many claim to offer advice but I suspect that any suitability report provided will be the same for you as their other clients with a few names and numbers tweaked to suit you.

Some offer a non advised service acting simply as a broker to get you the best annuity rate. A task they are usually pretty good at as they can cut out the cost of advice.

If you need advice and someone to shop around on your behalf use a local IFA

Ridiculous and unfounded statement.

There are good and bad advisers with online annuity brokers, in the same way that there are good and bad IFAs.

Key Retirement Solutions provide a non-advised service, which means they will try and get the highest annuity rate based on the information you provide. They are similar in that regard to a lot of the other big players in the market.

There isn't any inherent reason why (ceteris paribus) an IFA would be able to get a higher rate than an online annuity broker. It generally comes down to how much work and negotiating they are willing and able to do on your behalf.

dunstonh

There isn't any inherent reason why (ceteris paribus) an IFA would be able to get a higher rate than an online annuity broker. It generally comes down to how much work and negotiating they are willing and able to do on your behalf.

It is the haggle that makes the difference. I have been up against some online brokers and found pre-haggle there is little difference. The increase post haggle is where the IFA can add value.