Variable annuities are probably more suited to older persons who are still in employment, rather than those actually in retirement, according to Just Retirement. So, in respect of variable annuities; are uk best retirement pension annuity rates better or not. Nigel Barlow, who has the rather grand, and long, title, of head of retirement income solutions at leading retirement income specialists, Just Retirement, believes the products have been incorrectly marketed at the post-retirement demographic, as opposed to the pre-retirement market. Perhaps the former would be better off with conventional retirement planning.
Variable annuities, contracts which offer a guarantee along with the potential of income growth should underlying investments perform well, have been marketed here in the UK for several years as an option to traditional conventional lifetime annuities and income drawdown plans. However, Nigel Barlow believes these type of products are probably more beneficial for individuals who are approaching their retirement, rather than those people who have already given up work. He suggests that if someone decides to work past their retirement, say to 70, they will probably want to continue benefiting from any investment growth in equity markets.
However, Just Retirement also suggest that people approaching their retirement also need to ensure they protect themselves in case there is a major drop in the value of their investments (as we have witnessed recently), or if they lose their employment, which is where the income guarantee scenario becomes important. Barlow added that if you’re in a position where the economy is in recession, as we are currently seeing, and you lose your job at age 68, you’re probably not going to get other employment, and are faced with having perhaps 25% wiped off the value of your pension fund. The guarantee scenario would then be useful to secure a level of income until stockmarkets recover.
