Financial Services > Pensions > Annuities > Comparing Annuity Options

Comparing Annuity Options

When a pension provider issues an annuity quotation, there could be a considerable difference between the amount offered, and the annuity income that the pension holder could actually receive.

It is worth remembering that retirement income can change in value, due to the way economic and investment markets change and affect pension funds.

You might qualify for an enhanced annuity or impaired annuity

Many pension companies do not know the full details of their pension holders.

For this reason, you may be entitled to an enhanced annuity.

This is relevant for people with a lower than average life expectancy, perhaps due to medical history, chronic conditions, smoking or other factors.

An enhanced annuity provides a higher level of retirement income for the pension holder, although not all pension companies will provide enhanced annuities. Read more about enhanced annuities and impaired annuities below.

Finding the right annuity option

Understanding which annuity is the most effective for your circumstances can be difficult. There are a variety of pension annuities on the market, including conventional annuities, enhanced annuities, with-profits or unit-linked annuities, investment annuities, joint life annuities, impaired annuities and more.

To learn more about the different types of pension annuity, please see Choosing a Pension Annuity and visit our Annuity Glossary of terms.

How do I find out more about annuities?

Please click here to read the Pensions.co.uk guide to pension annuities. Because some of the terms relating to this product are confusing, please also visit our glossary of terms for a full explanation of the jargon.

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