Annuities

lollypod

I am 68 bought annuities can I cash them

greenglide

Generally, no you can't - they are, usually, "lifetime annuities".

There have been rumours of possibly allowing such things in the future but there are real downsides to this.

Why do you want to surrender the annuities now? They are generally as valuable now as they were when purchased.

The purchase of an annuity is a mega-serious decision. Did you get it wrong? Why did you get it wrong?

dunstonh

If its a lifetime annuity, then no. Whilst it is technically possible, it is extremely rare for an insurer to allow it.

If its a fixed term annuity then you will be given options at the end of the fixed term which will largely depend on what options you selected at the start of the term.

atush

What makes you think an annuity is wrong for you?

Might still have been the right decision and you got your 25% TFLS anyway?

jamesd

You can't get the money back from the usual lifetime annuities except, possibly, if you purchased them within the last few weeks.

Were you advised to buy them by an independent financial adviser or did you pick them yourself? If advised, how old were you at the time you were given the advice? I'm asking these questions because it is possible that you were mis-sold the annuities and should have been advised to defer claiming the state pensions instead.

dunstonh

Were you advised to buy them by an independent financial adviser or did you pick them yourself? If advised, how old were you at the time you were given the advice? I'm asking these questions because it is possible that you were mis-sold the annuities and should have been advised to defer claiming the state pensions instead.

That is not a valid complaint reason. Or if it is made, its an absolute doddle to reject.

jamesd

What are the easy reasons to reject advice that caused a person seeking reliable income to have lower and less safe income?

A financial adviser might have a rejection argument on the basis that they do not consider the whole market for retirement income sources, if they disclosed that sufficiently well, but that particular route isn't available to an independent financial adviser.

atush

An annuity could have been the right way to go for this OP, we can't tell. So how would there be a missale to get a guaranteed income for life?

AS opposed to no income? The pot may have been too small for DD?

jamesd

By being sold a lower income for life with a higher risk product than the alternative that pays no commission at all: deferring the state pension. You're not going to find lifetime annuities that pay 10.4% inflation-linked with spousal benefit in the general market at the relevant ages here and an annuity is subject to a potential 10% loss of income in the unlikely event that the FSCS becomes involved.

There's approximately zero investment risk placing the money into cash or near-cash deposits while drawing on it during deferral so it's not an issue of higher risk for deferring.

At the moment we don't know enough about what happened and when to lollypod.