A leading enhanced annuity provider, LV=, has added new lifestyle and medical conditions to its product offering. In addition to those already accepted, customers who have a combination of milder medical conditions, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and disclose them at the time of the application, may now be eligible for an enhanced annuity rate and an increased retirement income.
Those applicants suffering from two or more milder medical or lifestyle conditions may also be able to qualify for enhanced annuity rates offering up to 7.5% more retirement income than a standard annuity. The new qualifying medical and lifestyle conditions include high blood pressure, being overweight, high cholesterol, smoking cigars, and smoking less than 10 cigarettes each day.
LV= hope the improvements to their enhanced annuity will encourage more people to apply to them and potentially receive a higher income in retirement, especially as the many conditions that people may think are trivial and won’t enable them to qualify for an improved annuity, such as high blood pressure, may in fact open the door to enhanced annuity terms.
Applicants therefore need to be completely open about their circumstances when in discussion with their adviser, as even relatively minor conditions could increase the annuity income they receive in retirement for the rest of their life.
