Retirement & Wealth
Annuities
Converting a lump sum into guaranteed income, for a period or for life.
What this cover does
An annuity exchanges capital for income. Its purpose is to remove longevity risk — the possibility of outliving your savings — by shifting it to an insurer. The trade is flexibility: once income has started, most of that capital is no longer yours to redirect.
Typically included
- Immediate annuities paying income from the outset
- Deferred annuities accumulating before income starts
- Fixed annuities with a guaranteed rate
- Indexed annuities linked to an index with a floor
- Variable annuities invested in sub-accounts
- Joint and survivor options continuing to a spouse
Common add-ons
- Period-certain guarantees so payments continue to beneficiaries
- Inflation-linked escalation
- Long-term care and enhanced-income riders
- Enhanced rates where health or lifestyle qualifies
Questions
What people ask about annuities
What happens to the money if I die early?
With a plain life annuity, payments simply stop. A period-certain or joint-life option continues payments to a spouse or beneficiary, at the cost of a lower starting income.
Can I change my mind?
Deferred annuities usually allow surrender during a stated period, with charges that reduce over time. Once an immediate annuity has started, it generally cannot be reversed. We model this before anything is signed.
Are annuities good value?
It depends on rates, your health, how long you live and what else you hold. They buy certainty rather than return, and they work best as part of a plan rather than all of it.
Often taken together
Related cover
Retirement Income Planning
Turning accumulated savings into income that lasts as long as you do.
Read more →Pension Maximisation
Comparing a higher single-life pension plus life cover against a joint-and-survivor election.
Read more →Quote Annuities
Tell us what you already have and we will show you where this fits — or tell you plainly that you do not need it.