Thursday, 17 May 2012

A lifetime Annuity as a source of income

By Nicole Helms


A lifetime annuity is one of the most popular plans that a person can take out at retirement age and this type of income plan will provide them with one way of converting their existing pension pot into a reliable source of income for the rest of their lives. Right around the UK, lifetime annuities are proving to be a popular option as they work in the similar way to a wage - providing a regular income to a person - for the remainder of their life.

Working out how to replace your existing wage and income with a form of financial support can often be a challenging task and this is a person's biggest worry when they deal with looking at retirement. Providing you with a reliable source of income for the remainder of your life, a lifetime annuity also allows you to free up some of your pension pot by providing you with a tax free lump sum of up to 25%.

The amount of annuity income that you will receive is very dependent on your personal circumstances and annuity calculations are not always that easy to make. Your calculation is primarily based on life expectancy so you need to take into consideration anything in your life which might alter that, this could include the type of lifestyle you lead, where you live and any type of health problems you have.

Chances are that an annuity income will be lower for a relatively healthy person as it's a given that you will generally be paid over a longer period of time as you are predicted to have a higher life expectancy. But in some situations this could be changed by simple lifestyle habits that you might lead such as smoking or heavy drinking.

There are many annuity decisions open to you and they don't have to be individual decisions, if you have a partner then you may consider taking out a joint annuity which can cover you both in the event of any unexpected deaths.




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