Cashing in Annuity in payment

Orange_wasps

I recently enquired of the insurance company whether I could cash in an annuity which pays me the net sum of £298 per annum. I was advised that this was not possible. Is this right? Thanks for your help.

dunstonh

I was advised that this was not possible. Is this right?

That is correct.

There was a foolish proposal to allow annuities to be sold but the Government, just a couple of weeks ago, put an end to that.

The consultation for it realised that there was no appetite for it and nearly all annuity holders would end up worse off. So, thankfully, they killed the idea off.

Orange_wasps

OK, thanks. That's a shame as the pitiful annual amount is hardly life-changing..... :-)

d70cw6

if you could cash it in id imagine the lump sum wouldnt be life-changing either.

dunstonh

Orange_wasps wrote: »

OK, thanks. That's a shame as the pitiful annual amount is hardly life-changing..... :-)

The proposals to pay a lump sum instead would have been even more pitiful. It would have been £298 multiplied by the number of years of your life expectancy (based on current health) minus a number of years worth as a margin of error, minus costs for doing it and making a profit (which would likely have been over £1000) leaving you with the pittance left.

Silvertabby

The proposals to pay a lump sum instead would have been even more pitiful. It would have been £298 multiplied by the number of years of your life expectancy (based on current health) minus a number of years worth as a margin of error, minus costs for doing it and making a profit (which would likely have been over £1000) leaving you with the pittance left.

Dunstonh - sadly, a lot of people had overly high expectations of this scheme - and I bet that many haven't noticed that the plug has been pulled and are still 'banking' on a windfall next April.

There's a very sad story on another pensions information board - a lady wrote how upset she was that this scheme wouldn't go ahead, because she had a terminally ill friend who wanted to cash in his annuity so he could enjoy his last few months, and then leave his family a nice lump sum.

dunstonh

There's a very sad story on another pensions information board - a lady wrote how upset she was that this scheme wouldn't go ahead, because she had a terminally ill friend who wanted to cash in his annuity so he could enjoy his last few months, and then leave his family a nice lump sum.

I see what you mean about expectation. That person wouldnt have been paid a penny under the cancelled proposals.