Why not annuitise now?

westv

How many providers price based on postcode? For those that do, do they base on the specific postcode or more the region it's in?

kidmugsy

Malthusian wrote: »

you are quite at liberty to buy an annuity at age 80 or 85 or whenever you start to feel you can't be bothered any more.

As if people aged 80 think "next year I'll be muddled but this year I'm still pretty sharp, so now I'll buy an annuity." And, of course, if your drawdown investing has gone badly you'll have a smaller sum with which to buy the annuity.

Malthusian wrote: »

Inflation-linked annuities are generally very poor value as it takes years before the increases make up for the lower income initially.

As Linton and Greenglide imply, you can't possibly know that.

woolly_wombat

robin61 wrote: »

My wife has a DC pension and she will almost definitely not buy an annuity. We just can't get over what a small pension they buy compared with 10 or more years agon.

I can remember my father telling me that he wasn't going to buy an annuity because rates were so much lower than 10 years before.

That was in 1995!

Sadly he died shortly afterwards, having instructed my mother to invest his pension fund in what was generally seen at the time as a really safe bet - an Equitable Life with-profits fund! Disastrous.

My father was financially astute but my mother wasn't, and she lived for another 16 years after his death. She would have been much more comfortable in retirement if he had taken a joint-life annuity. It just didn't look like a good choice at the time.

Thrugelmir

Malthusian wrote: »

Inflation-linked annuities are generally very poor value as it takes years before the increases make up for the lower income initially. And most people get more value out of income earlier in life, when they are younger and more active.

My mother is 86. Doesn't stop her travelling. Cruises aren't cheap.

audigex

I'll be happy to still be going at all at 86, never mind travelling!

That said, I get seasick, so I'll leave your mother to it. Fair play to her, though.

LHW99

Ensure that both annuities (if bought) include surviving spouse's payments - while women's life expectancy is statistically greater than men's, that need not hold for an individual couple.

Thrugelmir

Out of interest looked at annuity quotations today. A flat rate of 4.9% didn't seem so bad in this low inflationary environment if I did decide to convert the balance of my SIPP after taking the TFLS. As my plan is to use this until SRA. When I'll then receive my SP along with my 2 other DB schemes.

westv

Were 't they nearer 7% only a few years ago?

BoothBarber

What age is that 4.9% rate for Thrugelmir?

Does anyone know whether the rates you get quoted online are what you would actually be able to get?

I have no experience, just think it would be easy for companies to tout for your business by over quoting.