Sun Life Direct

Category » Retirement Planning

Enjoy The Retirement You Deserve – Purchase Your Annuity Using The Open Market Option

Posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

Retirement is supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime, a time to put your feet up and relax, but if money is an issue would you enjoy it? To ensure you get the best value make sure you purchase your annuity using the open market option.

What is the Open Market Option

The open market option was introduced so annuitants were not forced to buy their annuity from their pension company. It allows you to take your pension fund (after taking the tax free cash) to another annuity provider to buy your annuity. The maximum tax free cash is normally 25% of the total pension.

What are the advantages of the Open Market Option

The biggest advantage of the open market option is that all annuity providers offer different rates for different gender, age, postcode and lots of other criteria. This means you will get the best rate available for the annuity you wish to purchase.

Although the open market option has been around since 1978, it was not widely publicised by the pensions industry, in fact it was not mentioned at all by most companies until they were forced to do so by the Financial Services Authority in 2002.

The only way to ensure you get the retirement you deserve from your pension fund is to use the Open Market Option.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Jul 20, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

Why you Need to Plan Your Future?

Posted on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

The advent of these unnerving physical changes is making it more and more difficult for me to deny the fact that I am not getting any younger. And I was once again reminded of them this morning when four of my co-workers threw themselves a retirement goodbye party in the office.

Yes, it is time to plan for the future, assuming that I do live beyond what I expect myself to live (because if I am to be honest, my health wasn’t in my priority until recently).

When I talked to an already retired friend to ask for some advice of what I should do, the topic of pension annuities inevitably came up. Guess what I found out? Less healthy people get higher interest / income than healthy ones. My friend told me it is because, of course, less healthy people have higher chances of not living longer, hence the possibility of the companies paying more over a longer period of time is lower compared to healthy people. Interesting. Very interesting. This is one bright side: who knew one’s smoking history could be to their advantage eventually?

As of late, I have been shopping around for the best annuity rates I could find. Another friend advised me never to approve of the first offer the pension provider offers, and so here I am, scouting the internet and periodicals of reasonable annuity offers. Oh, I am very open to suggestions.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Jul 14, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

Maximising Your Retirement Benefit

Posted on Saturday, July 10th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

You can always maximize your retirement benefit and have it at a larger amount by choosing an annuity that can suit your future needs.

At one point in life, every person has to reach his or her golden years. That is why it is always best to have a good preparation for it. Ideally, the retirement years range from 55 to 60. Prior to this age, you have to consider the possibilities of using your pension benefit in the wisest way.

There are many options on how you can maximize the use of your pension. For some, they only receive the default amount of their pension as set by the insurance company. In other cases, people who are about to retire grab the opportunity to purchase annuities so that by the time the pension will be received, the price is at a higher amount. It is just like conducting a business where you can profit from your capital, but the only difference is that you do not need to work anymore. Your job is just to enjoy your pension during your retirement years. You can use your money to engage into some activities where you can find pleasure and leisure. Surf the net today and learn about the best annuity that you can purchase. Check on the open market option so you can obtain the best annuity rates before you come up with a decision.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Jul 10, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

The Best Decision for Your Retirement Years

Posted on Monday, July 5th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

It is a good idea to save money at present and invest it for future use such as buying an annuity to make your pension higher than its standard amount.

It is sometimes true that the future is something that most people disregard because they are too much focused on the present condition of their lives. While you are still in earning a living, it would be a good idea to save some of your money for the future. As you approach your retirement years, you can purchase an annuity that can increase the amount of your pension once you receive it. The principle of annuity is like saving your money thru a time deposit as it earns interest over a period of time. By the time you retire, you can enjoy your pension at a higher amount.

By searching on the best pension annuities, you can decide on the conversion rate that you can afford to pay at present. Retirement is a benefit that can be enjoyed by all retirees as soon as they reach the age of 55 to 60. Since pension is usually given at a standard amount as based by the provider, it can be doubled or multiplied by means of an annuity purchase. While it is still early, you can make a good decision on how you can maximize the use of your pension. For sure, retirement years will come, and it pays to be prepared and secured financially when this time comes.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Jul 05, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

Enjoy Your Golden Years Without Any Worries

Posted on Sunday, July 4th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

There are ways to enjoy your retirement years and one way is to choose an annuity purchase that will increase the amount of your pension at the time you are to receive it.

You can still enjoy your life even if you reach your retirement years. There will be no worries if you think that you are stable financially. Before reaching the age of 55 to 60, it is but right to think of ways on how you can use your pension benefit wisely. One way of investing your pension is through an annuity purchase. By dealing with a trusted insurance company, you can buy annuities according to what you can afford.

At the time you reach your retirement age, you can receive your pension at a bigger amount. The idea of receiving a higher amount of pension is so helpful and beneficial especially at this time of your life. The concept of annuity is like conducting a business where you need to invest on your capital and wait for a period of time until you are able to gain profit. This situation, would, of course, require you to work hard for it. In the case of buying an annuity, you just to do the purchase and let your money multiply over a period of time without working hard for it. At the time you are about to receive your pension, you can truly enjoy your golden years without any worries on your health expenses.   Check on the process of annuity on the internet and learn about the open market option where can get to choose the best conversion rates.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Jul 04, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

How Annuity Purchases Could Get Complicated

Posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

Having annuity would do you some good for your retirement years, because that would be the time when you could no longer be able to work for income anymore. An annuity contract would get you a regular source of income, guaranteed to provide for your financial needs for as long as you are still alive and well.

Choosing an annuity contract isn’t as easy as picking the best annuity contract out of the many others. You have a lot of variables to consider, factors to take into account, and details you need to sort out. The annuity rates you would receive are determined by various factors such as your gender, age, location, and lifestyle. While you need to decide how frequent you want to receive your payment, as well as whether or not your next of kin should continue receiving the remaining pension in case you die.

Other than that, there would be some bits of the contract that you would not be able to fully understand. There could be some jargon, language, or conditions that you would have a hard time comprehending and you need the help of a consultant for that. You may even need a pension annuities calculator for some calculations, as well.

This is how complicated making an annuity purchase could get. It could get difficult, but all you need to do is do thorough research and inquire for help to clear some things up before making an informed decision that could affect your financial situation come retirement.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Jun 29, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

When Retirement Looms

Posted on Friday, June 18th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

“So, Leslie, what are your plans after retirement?”

When Julie asked me the question earlier today, I laughed. I always said I would be taking care of my grandchildren then. Julie then jokingly told me to seriously think about it, if I didn’t want to not have anything to give my grandchildren when they visit. I’ve thought of the question before, but not in such detail. Now, however, as I am only several years away from THE retirement, I can no longer avoid the question.

My conversation with Julie then continued, and she told me all about her plans of saving their pension and getting immediate annuities, and that she and her husband has been trying to choose the best annuity plan for them. Klutz that I am, I told her about my plans after receiving my retirement pay as I had very little idea about annuities.

Fortunately, Julie gave me very interesting facts: that I must be very careful in choosing which annuities to get since I will essentially trust them to provide for me for a long period of time, assuming I live very long. And she told me to shop around for the best annuity rates and compare them with others.

And so tonight, I shall discuss this with my dear husband, who, bless his soul, has been trying to open the topic to me for the past several months.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Jun 18, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

Alternatives to annuities

Posted on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

What are the alternatives to annuities at retirement? Well there are a number of options that you could consider. Firstly there are guaranteed annuities to consider or invested annuities. Then there is unsecured pension which is also more familiarly know as income drawdown.

Annuity Options

If you take a guaranteed annuity then you basically get what it says on the tin, a guaranteed annuity, which means that the income that you get is guaranteed for the rest of your life. If you choose an escalating income then it is still guaranteed for the rest of your life. With both of these what it means is the income cannot fall. With an invested annuity the income is not guaranteed, it can go up or down depending on how the underlying investments perform. Hence normally these type of products are bought by annuitants that have additional income income from other sources.

Unsecured Pension (Income Drawdown)

Many people that reach retirement do not want an income initially and therefore they go into income drawdown. With income drawdown you can take your tax free cash and leave the remainder of the fund invested. Again the reason it is called unsecured is that the underlying investments can rise and fall, which means that income can fall.

The options at retirement should be discussed with a qualified independent financial adviser and preferably a specialist in retirement options.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on May 19, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

Making your retirement choices

Posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 in Retirement Planning

As you approach retirement you need to start to think about the choices you need to make when taking your pension.

The first thing to remember is you do not have to take the pension offered by your current pension provider. You have the right to take your retirement fund to a different provider, this is called the open market option.

Choosing the right provider can be very difficult and time consuming, that’s why you should seek advice from an independent financial adviser (IFA) that understands annuities. If you do not already have your own financial adviser then you can use the services of Retirement Solutions limited a specialist annuity IFA.

What is an annuity?

Your pension pot that you have saved is converted to an annuity, which is a series of regular payments of income paid for the rest of your life.

What affects the cost of an annuity?

Your age, your gender and your health and lifestyle can all affect the income you receive from your pension pot.

Who can buy an annuity?

You can buy an annuity if you have one of the following types of pension:

Personal pension
Stakeholder pension
Most Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) schemes
Free-Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution (FSAVC) scheme
Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC)
Section 32 policy (buy-out bond)
Occupational money purchase scheme

If you have contracted out of the additional state pension, you must use that part of your pension fund to buy a protected rights annuity. You have the same options as with your other pension funds except that you must buy a joint-life annuity paying a 50% spouse’s pension if you are married or have a civil partner.

This is filed under: Retirement Planning
Added on Apr 26, 2010 by admin | Comments 0

A refreshingly new approach to Independent Financial Advice

Posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 in Annuity Rates, Equity Release, Retirement Planning

An Independent Financial Adviser is the only financial adviser who can provide advice that is specific and personal to your circumstances from products and services available from the whole market. An IFA will work for you and not the product provider.

Retirement Solutions is an independent financial adviser that specialises in giving advice in the annuities and equity release market.

Retirement Solutions Limited is a whole of market financial adviser. However, we choose to provide advice only in the areas where we have the necessary experience and expertise; annuities and equity release

If you would like us to arrange for an IFA to contact you then please click the form link below. We will then select the IFA who is best suited to advise you.

http://www.formexperts.com/forms/OI31IWVMTT65

This is filed under: Annuity Rates, Equity Release, Retirement Planning
Added on Nov 19, 2009 by admin | Comments 0

AnnuitySupermarket.com is an independent marketing website owned by Annuity Supermarket Limited. Registered Office: 5 Jupiter House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 8NN. Registered in England and Wales No: 06513009. Telephone: 0207 183 0360.

Annuity Supermarket Limited cannot and do not offer financial advice. All information you supply to this site will be passed to independent financial advisers who will contact you. Annuity Supermarket Limited is not responsible or liable for any financial service provided by, or obtained through a third party. Our service is free to you but to operate this service we may receive commissions from the independent financial adviser we refer you to. Terms