Regret taking out annuity

MartinlewisforTaoiseach

Hi all. I took out an annuity with L&G with my pension last December. Sick now because it is such a small rip off amount. Anyone know how I can cancel it please?

SailorSam

You'd need to read all the small print but i suspect you're one of the loosers and will have to keep it. The thing is if they allowed people to opt out how far do they go back ? Four months is a long time.

zaksmum

From what I understand you can't cancel it now.

Some have a cooling off period of 30 days or possibly 60 but you wouldn't be able to cancel one taken out in December.

A lot of people are grumbling about this.

atush

Maybe a lot of people should have considered Drawdown as well as an annuity?

TBH, an annuity doesn't have to be a bad thing (esp if you are over 65 and may live very long). It depends on t he type you bought.

Linton

If you need the money to live on for the rest of your life taking an annuity could be the right answer. Nothing else will match an annuity in providing a guaranteed life long income.

SailorSam

I think people would feel better about buying annuities if you could have some sort of clause in it which it didn't die with you and you're partner could still receive the pension. I know it's not something you can expect to leave to future generations, but to a husband/wife would seem ok.

Linton

SailorSam wrote: »

I think people would feel better about buying annuities if you could have some sort of clause in it which it didn't die with you and you're partner could still receive the pension. I know it's not something you can expect to leave to future generations, but to a husband/wife would seem ok.

You can have a joint annuity with any % up to 100% going to the surviving spouse but of course it costs more as it will on average be paid for longer.

atush

SailorSam wrote: »

I think people would feel better about buying annuities if you could have some sort of clause in it which it didn't die with you and you're partner could still receive the pension. I know it's not something you can expect to leave to future generations, but to a husband/wife would seem ok.

AS Linton said, that is already the case. The problem is, many men go to buy their annuity and reject this in favor of a higher level income. So thinking about a spouses annuity/pension and indexing needs to be done.

Hopefully this will form part of the free advice/information route. AS many buy annuities directly from their p0ension company at present, without advice.

dunstonh

Annuities are not going away. Indeed, for many they will still be the best option for some or all of the money. I have looked at several cases since budget and in each case, the person is still going with the annuity as it provides double the income of the alternatives without the risks. Both were relatively small pots. Larger pots or those with other guaranteed income on the other hand are now less likely to want annuity.

mania112

MartinlewisforTaoiseach wrote: »

Hi all. I took out an annuity with L&G with my pension last December. Sick now because it is such a small rip off amount. Anyone know how I can cancel it please?

There's a lot of this, and it's quite frustrating now. Let me ask you:

Why did you buy an annuity?

SallyG

Because the alternative is pension roulette income drawdown - a state of permanent insecurity - a form of torture probably recognised by Amnesty International.
Constantly being warned that you must keep an eye on your investments but ignorant of how to do that and what action to take and when and unable trust anyone's advice - and anyway no-one you can sue will tell you how to invest.