Impaired life annuities and enhanced annuities rates could be very important to you if you want the best annuity rates at retirement. Impaired life annuity rates are available to you if you suffer from a medical condition that will, or might, affect the age at which you are likely to die. If you are eligible for an impaired life annuity, then you can expect to receive a greater level of retirement income from your annuity than you would otherwise receive if you were considered to be of good health.
You might be able to get enhanced annuity rates if you are overweight, or if you smoke regularly. Some insurance companies (annuity providers) have quite recently started to offer higher annuities to people dependent on their postcode, or to those who have previously worked in hazardous occupations. If you think that you might be eligible for impaired life annuities or enhanced annuities, it is crucial that you use your open market option (OMO), as you could end up with a significantly higher level of annuity income in your retirement. Not all annuity providers offer enhanced annuity rates so it is vital to shop around.
If you are looking for a pension annuity which will continue to pay out to your spouse/partner after your death, then their circumstances can also have an effect on the level of annuity income that you qualify for. If either of you take prescribed medication or have been hospitalised as a result of a serious medical condition, you should check out your choices. Today, impaired life annuities are available to people with one or more of over 3,000 medical conditions, from high blood pressure and high cholesterol to angina or leukaemia. As you might imagine, the more serious the medical condition, the greater the increase in the annuity income that would be offered. Your annuity income may be increased if you are currently in ill health or if you have had a previous illness or required surgery.
Recent research carried out by pension consultants Watson Wyatt shows that the dramatic growth in the number of retirees taking out enhanced annuities is likely to continue. These annuities now make up a quarter of all contracts sold in the open market in the UK, and Watson Wyatt expects this ratio to continue to increase. To enable you to compare your annuity options, and to help you to decide exactly which annuity will give you the best level of income in your retirement, you need to speak with a specialist.
