Annuity Advice.

penpon

Hi i have a small standard life flexible retirement plan £67,257 i am thinking of taking it soon as an Annuity , is it worth me asking a financial advisor to handle it or do it myself, i think they could get a better deal , but for a fee. they say to shop around also.
i would appreciate some info on this please i am 62 yrs with health issues so know i can get an enhanced policy as i am already have an annuity from my main pension.
cheers hope someone can point me in the right direction.

dunstonh

 is it worth me asking a financial advisor to handle it or do it myself, i think they could get a better deal , but for a fee. they say to shop around also.

An adviser will have a fee but if you do it yourself the provider will pay a commission to the company that you use to buy it through.  Often the commission is higher than the fee.  Both get deducted from the fund.

penpon

dunstonh said:

 is it worth me asking a financial advisor to handle it or do it myself, i think they could get a better deal , but for a fee. they say to shop around also.

An adviser will have a fee but if you do it yourself the provider will pay a commission to the company that you use to buy it through.  Often the commission is higher than the fee.  Both get deducted from the fund.

So would it be wise to take it from Standard life in the first place ?

xylophone

So would it be wise to take it from Standard life in the first place ?

SL has offered you an enhanced annuity? What is on offer?

penpon

xylophone said:

So would it be wise to take it from Standard life in the first place ?

SL has offered you an enhanced annuity? What is on offer?

No sorry i haven't discussed it with them yet, just trying to gets some info together first.

dunstonh

So would it be wise to take it from Standard life in the first place ?

No.  They will do it on commission basis and keep the commission for themselves unless it is still on the agency of the original adviser (or a later one if a change of adviser) and SL will pay that adviser even though they didn't do anything.

penpon

dunstonh said:

So would it be wise to take it from Standard life in the first place ?

No.  They will do it on commission basis and keep the commission for themselves unless it is still on the agency of the original adviser (or a later one if a change of adviser) and SL will pay that adviser even though they didn't do anything.

The policy was set up by the company i worked for after they shutdown our final salary scheme .

dunstonh

penpon said:

dunstonh said:

So would it be wise to take it from Standard life in the first place ?

No.  They will do it on commission basis and keep the commission for themselves unless it is still on the agency of the original adviser (or a later one if a change of adviser) and SL will pay that adviser even though they didn't do anything.

The policy was set up by the company i worked for after they shutdown our final salary scheme .

So, its likely that the administrator that set up the pension would receive the commission if they are still in business.   If not, SL would keep it for themselves.

In all reality, the open market option would almost certainly give a better rate as SL rarely came out well when they did annuities and I am not sure they even do them anymore.  I haven't seen their name appear on annuity quote comparisons I have obtained for some time.

penpon

dunstonh said:

penpon said:

dunstonh said:

So would it be wise to take it from Standard life in the first place ?

No.  They will do it on commission basis and keep the commission for themselves unless it is still on the agency of the original adviser (or a later one if a change of adviser) and SL will pay that adviser even though they didn't do anything.

The policy was set up by the company i worked for after they shutdown our final salary scheme .

So, its likely that the administrator that set up the pension would receive the commission if they are still in business.   If not, SL would keep it for themselves.

In all reality, the open market option would almost certainly give a better rate as SL rarely came out well when they did annuities and I am not sure they even do them anymore.  I haven't seen their name appear on annuity quote comparisons I have obtained for some time.

Thanks for your information much appreciated, ill contact a few companies see what they come up with.

just for curiosity purposes my other annuity is with Just , do you recommend pick another company rather than have both with the same company.

dunstonh

just for curiosity purposes my other annuity is with Just , do you recommend pick another company rather than have both with the same company.

It doesn't really make much difference.   A different company will mean another tax code but that is something HMRC sort out with the provider by the second month.  Its no work for you.

Just haven't been coming out on best rates recently.   At least not on the pre-haggle pricing.  On a quote I did last Wednesday, they came out 5th.   We were not doing an annuity as it was info only to compare against drawdown but it was with full health input.     That said, certain health issues will result in different companies offering more or less favourable terms.  So, who is top for one person would be different for another. 

penpon

dunstonh said:

just for curiosity purposes my other annuity is with Just , do you recommend pick another company rather than have both with the same company.

It doesn't really make much difference.   A different company will mean another tax code but that is something HMRC sort out with the provider by the second month.  Its no work for you.

Just haven't been coming out on best rates recently.   At least not on the pre-haggle pricing.  On a quote I did last Wednesday, they came out 5th.   We were not doing an annuity as it was info only to compare against drawdown but it was with full health input.     That said, certain health issues will result in different companies offering more or less favourable terms.  So, who is top for one person would be different for another. 

Thanks again some useful information much appreciated indeed.