Is it worth talking to Pension Wise?

Redlander

Am I right to suppose that the sort of questions I have about annuities are not within the scope of Pension Wise telephone advice?
What I would like to know is:

• Is it worth the expense to engage an IFA, or can you get about as good a deal through a website such as Annuity Ready?
• Is it worth buying a Purchased Life Annuity with the tax-free 25% of my pot? (It seems impossible to even get a quote without engaging an IFA)?

I'm imagining that my questions would fall under advice rather than guidance, which Pension Wise would be unwilling to give. Am I right?

Albermarle

Redlander said:

Am I right to suppose that the sort of questions I have about annuities are not within the scope of Pension Wise telephone advice?
What I would like to know is:

• Is it worth the expense to engage an IFA, or can you get about as good a deal through a website such as Annuity Ready?
• Is it worth buying a Purchased Life Annuity with the tax-free 25% of my pot? (It seems impossible to even get a quote without engaging an IFA)?

I'm imagining that my questions would fall under advice rather than guidance, which Pension Wise would be unwilling to give. Am I right?

You probably are right. I would not be totally surprised if they did not know what a purchased life annuity was.

Brie

If talking to them helps you organise your thoughts or fill in some information blanks for you then it's a good thing to try.  If however you are very knowledgable re pensions then maybe not.  To put it in perspective - I've worked in pension admin off and on for many years and in different countries and I found them helpful.  

As for hiring an IFA - I haven't.  But I have taken advantage of some free initial sessions which are meant for the IFA to sell themselves to you and for you to get to know them better.  Again - it was helpful as each person I talked to (including a tied FA) offered different ideas for me to consider.  Circumstances for me have changed so I've put the whole process on hold but may start again in a few months.

Linton

Redlander said:

Am I right to suppose that the sort of questions I have about annuities are not within the scope of Pension Wise telephone advice?
What I would like to know is:

• Is it worth the expense to engage an IFA, or can you get about as good a deal through a website such as Annuity Ready?
• Is it worth buying a Purchased Life Annuity with the tax-free 25% of my pot? (It seems impossible to even get a quote without engaging an IFA)?

I'm imagining that my questions would fall under advice rather than guidance, which Pension Wise would be unwilling to give. Am I right?

I am sure those quetions are asking for advice.  Whether something is worthwhile is really a matter depending on personal circumstances.

It could well be worthwhile talking to an IFA:
 -  A website will be paid commission by the annuity provider whereas an advice charge from an IFA, who cannot be paid commission, could be lower.
 - Annuities offer a large number of options which you may or may not want to pay for, only some of which will be included on the website.  An IFA can advise on which options are worth considering in your particular circumstances
 - Good deals can be obtained baseed on your particular health conditions.  An IFA should know how to use your circumstances to get the best deal when negotiating with the a range of annuity providers.

dunstonh

Am I right to suppose that the sort of questions I have about annuities are not within the scope of Pension Wise telephone advice?

Pensionwise do not provide advice or opinion and are not trained to know all options and variances.  They are there for generic information only.    It's more a help to steer towards a potential solution rather than the fine-tuning of that option.  And it generally falls apart when it's multi-wrapper/multi-product solutions.

In my experience, everyone that has seen pensionwise and then come to us has done something different to what they thought they were going to do after the pensionwise meeting  (usually because of multi-wrapper, combination of methods or phased UFPLS being best)

• Is it worth the expense to engage an IFA, or can you get about as good a deal through a website such as Annuity Ready?

I have never had anyone get quotes from them and then me but in my experience, the IFA quotes have beaten other online non-advised websites when it has happened.   Mainly down to the fact the commission on non-advised has been higher than the fee.    On one occasion our fee was higher than the commission but we still got a higher annuity rate.   One of the major annuity providers told me that the quality of health questionnaires is filled in better via IFAs than the non-advised sources and that often leads to differences.  Plus, IFAs get to haggle the price with certain annuity providers.

• Is it worth buying a Purchased Life Annuity with the tax-free 25% of my pot? (It seems impossible to even get a quote without engaging an IFA)?

It depends on your circumstances.   Statistically, it is unlikely (given how niche it is) but it does fit certain objectives.

I'm imagining that my questions would fall under advice rather than guidance, which Pension Wise would be unwilling to give. Am I right?

Correct.   I am not even sure PLA would fall under their limited training.

Redlander

Thanks to all who contributed. I've arrange an appointment with an IFA in a couple of days.