Annuity Buying

DE_612183

Folks, I'm looking for quotes on buying annuities - whenever I go on a website it usually asks me for personal info, and then I get a barrage of phone calls and emails without actually getting a quote.

Is there a website where I can put in a "pot" value, a term etc and a bit like compare the market I get a set of possible companies to talk to?

Albermarle

It is often recommended that you go to an IFA, as in many cases they can get better rates. You will have to pay though, and you will have to be prepared to give them a lot of personal and financial info. They are obliged legally to find you the annuity most appropriate for you, and they can not do that without knowing your full situation. 

FrugalFredi

To get estimates of what a pot might buy, I use the moneyhelper site.
www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/taking-your-pension/compare-annuities

However I get the impression from this forum that using an IFA is the recommended route to buying.

dunstonh

If you buy an annuity without advice, they factor commission into the annuity rate that is often higher than the fee that an IFA will charge (which can be collected from the pension fund if you wish).    At about £30k plus in value, an IFA should work out cheaper.

Also, most annuities nowadays require medical information and lifestyle information to get an accurate quote.  Otherwise just standard terms are applied.  Those standard terms on bog standard commission basis are available on the tables mentioned above.     

Is there a website where I can put in a "pot" value, a term etc and a bit like compare the market I get a set of possible companies to talk to?

Most of the annuity providers do not retail direct to provider.  Some do but most do it via advisers or non-advised sales reps/websites.      I suspect the latter is what you have been coming across.

It is also worth remembering that there are a lot of options on annuities. e.g. with or without proportion, guarantee periods (upto 30 years), value protection (some only do it on first death, some do it on second), indexation which can have no floor vs ones that do.   So, a comparison site list in itself is not that valuable without knowing the quirks/terms that may be different on the responses.

Use the tables to get an idea of the figures but use a local IFA to you to arrange it if you want the best terms

michaels

Should you buy an annuity all in one go on should you do it in tranches over time to avoid locking in a rate when prices are high? 

Marcon

michaels said:

Should you buy an annuity all in one go on should you do it in tranches over time to avoid locking in a rate when prices are high? 

The problem is that you don't know which way rates will move or when - or how the value of your savings will fluctuate while you are waiting for annuity rates to improve. You will also have extra admin costs if you buy several small annuities rather than one bigger one.

Bimbly

This site allows you to look at some of the rates available without inputting your details. Useful to get an idea:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/taking-your-pension/compare-annuities

Qyburn

I couldn't get an answer out of that site without some pages of medical questions.  Is there an option other than the "Get started" button on that page?  Hargreaves Lansdown let's you skip the medical questions on their quoting tool.

FrugalFredi

You only get asked the more detailed medical questions if you answer "Yes" to any of the initial four medical questions.  If you answer them all "No", it proceeds to the quotes.

westv

When I'm just interested in information and the site requires personal details I just make up a name and, if required, an address close by. I also make sure I tick the "don't contact me" boxes.

westv

I noticed that the latest update from sharingpensions website predicts a 6.7% decrease in standard rates in the medium term.