Any experience or views of ‘Just’ (was ‘Just Retirement’) as an annuity provider?

chris1

We’d be grateful for any comments, good or bad, not familiar with them.
Thanks.

Malthusian

They exist. Which is all an annuity provider really has to do. Annuities are 100% guaranteed by the FSCS and usually, once the annuity is set up the only reason to ever talk to the provider is if you change your address or bank details.

So there is little reason to worry about either customer service (which you will almost never use) or balance sheet (which will be sound, but it's not your problem if it isn't).

It would be worth speaking to an Independent Financial Adviser as they typically cost the same as comparison sites and may be able to get you a better quote, assuming your pension fund is over a certain threshold.

dunstonh

Any experience or views of ‘Just’ (was ‘Just Retirement’) as an annuity provider?

Plenty.  They do the job they are required to do.  No more, no less.   Although on recent annuities, I haven't found them coming out best rate on first pass.   They do better after haggling the rate.   If you are using a comparison site, you may wish to change to an IFA as you may end up with better terms.  (website cases dont do any haggling and often their commission is higher than the IFA fee.  Its an unusual area where bypassing the IFA can actually cost you more)
 

pip895

A timely question for me. A friend I am helping out is looking at possibly using them - they came out on top in the HL annuity comparison and I haven't found another that improves on their rate else ware on the internet, but they were the only name of the bunch I hadn't heard of before..

I have seen on here reports of IFAs getting better rates but they all date back quite a few years - mostly over 10 years - does anyone have resent evidence of this?  I find it difficult to imagine for a relatively small Annuity they would have much scope..  [cross posted with above - so worth a look even for a <100k pot??] 

chris1

Malthusian said:

 So there is little reason to worry about either customer service (which you will almost never use) ...

We were bothered about reports of their admin being appalling, for example mistakes with RPI increases and difficulties contacting customer services.

dunstonh

  I find it difficult to imagine for a relatively small Annuity they would have much scope..  [cross posted with above - so worth a look even for a <100k pot??] 

Last time I was up against a comparison, we came in with a better annuity rate net of fee.   That was a fairly small value though.  

Our fee was slightly higher than the commission (only about £100) and we both came out with Just as the top provider but the annuity rate we got was slightly higher than the rate HL got.   There were medical conditions and I put the difference down to the level of medical information disclosed as I had to do a lot of digging to get accurate information compared to what I was initially told.  Comparison sites accept what you tell them and do not do the digging.  Plus, I haggled Just's rate up higher.

At £100k, I would expect to see an IFA coming in better as capping/tiering/fixed fee would likely be coming into play compared to an open-ended commission.

Malthusian

chris1 said:

Malthusian said:

 So there is little reason to worry about either customer service (which you will almost never use) ...

We were bothered about reports of their admin being appalling, for example mistakes with RPI increases and difficulties contacting customer services.

Where did you hear that, out of interest? Almost nobody buys RPI-linked private annuities. And as mentioned, you should hardly ever need to contact customer services with an annuity provider.

dunstonh

chris1 said:

Malthusian said:

 So there is little reason to worry about either customer service (which you will almost never use) ...

We were bothered about reports of their admin being appalling, for example mistakes with RPI increases and difficulties contacting customer services.

I haven't seen any negative coverage of Just.   And their customer services are easy to contact.   And their admin is fine.   
And as Malthusian says, RPI increases are extremely rare as most people dont buy that level of indexation. 
The only times most people have any contact with an annuity provider is at set up and on death.  

I would be a little concerned as to where you are getting this information from and their accuracy.

chris1

Malthusian said:

 Almost nobody buys RPI-linked private annuities.

Why is that please?

dunstonh

chris1 said:

Malthusian said:

 Almost nobody buys RPI-linked private annuities.

Why is that please?

Because they are poor value for most.    Fixed indexation can work out more cost-effective if set to a reasonable rate.       
The breakeven point for level and fixed indexation can be worked out.  RPI has to go with assumptions but you would normally find it at a later age than level or fixed indexation.

Additionally, the spending habits of individuals in retirement tends to be higher in the earlier years of retirement rather than the later years.   Whereas an RPI annuity starts lower and goes up.    This may give you peace of mind of ensuring its value in real terms. but it means you take a hit initially by having a lower income when you probably need it the most.

jsinc

dunstonh said:

Because they are poor value for most.    Fixed indexation can work out more cost-effective if set to a reasonable rate.       
The breakeven point for level and fixed indexation can be worked out.  RPI has to go with assumptions but you would normally find it at a later age than level or fixed indexation.

Additionally, the spending habits of individuals in retirement tends to be higher in the earlier years of retirement rather than the later years.   Whereas an RPI annuity starts lower and goes up.    This may give you peace of mind of ensuring its value in real terms. but it means you take a hit initially by having a lower income when you probably need it the most.

Apologies for hijacking the thread OP, but this seemed a sensible place to ask.

With Government proposing to align the RPI with CPIH around 2025-2030, are providers yet offering annuities linked to CPI or CPIH?

Otherwise there's a risk of anyone buying one linked to RPI getting significantly short-changed by slower inflation increases in the coming years vs. what they effectively paid for (assuming no legacy RPI index and no other compensation).

(I ask because my mum wants to purchase an inflation linked annuity in the next couple of years, age around 70).