Our service

The first thing you must decide is whether you need advice, and if you haven't yet done that click here for some guidance.

Once you have done this we believe you have three options where we can help you:

you want to buy an annuity, you know what type of annuity you require, and you just need to identify the best rate and annuity provider
you want an annuity, but need advice on what type, and with whom
you want to review the full range of options, including income drawdown

Each of these options are set out in more detail below. Click on the appropriate heading to proceed.

OPTION 1: BEST ANNUITY QUOTATION & PROCESSING
If your need is straightforward, and you have a good idea of the annuity you require, click here and we will deal with this for you. This costs you no extra money as the provider pays us a small commission (usually 1%), you get the deal no cheaper if you go direct, and we use our experience to guide you through the paperwork minefield.

You can try and deal with a provider yourself. However if you aren’t familiar with the technicalities, the paperwork, and the systems involved with annuities, nor the peculiarities of each provider (and they do have them!) you would be better advised to use our Best Annuity Quotation and Processing service.

The minimum annuity purchase price after tax-free cash is £50,000, though for enhanced or impaired cases it can be lower – please check with us.

But perhaps you feel advice is needed at some level, in which case one of the following two options will be more appropriate:

OPTION 2: REVIEW AND REPORT ON ANNUITY CHOICES
In this case you know that you want a conventional or with profits annuity, but would like a review and report on your choices, taking into account your objectives and all of your circumstances.

For this tailored service there is a fee of £95 (though it may be more in exceptionally complex cases, and we would let you know in advance). We will gather all of the necessary information from your existing pension fund providers. If you decide to proceed with the annuity purchase through ourselves this fee will be refunded.

We are usually remunerated by commission paid by the provider (which means that you pay no other fees to us beyond the initial fee). In our experience, most people are comfortable with commission payments, so long as they are clear, though we like to be flexible and you are welcome to pay us the equivalent by way of a fee if you wish.

OPTION 3: REVIEW & REPORT ON THE FULL RANGE OF RETIREMENT INCOME CHOICES
In this case you have a large pension fund (probably in excess of £200,000), you are prepared to take a degree of risk with your retirement income to achieve flexibility and/or inheritability benefits. In this case you need a review and report on the range of options: annuities, phased retirement and income drawdown, taking into account your objectives and all of your circumstances.

For this tailored service the fee is £195. If you decide to proceed with the product purchase (annuity, income drawdown etc) through ourselves this fee will be refunded provided the provider pays us commission. Most people are comfortable with commission payments to us, so long as they are clear – this will be set out in illustrations from the providers. We want to be flexible, and there are fee alternatives for those that prefer this route.

As always, thank you for your first class information and advice....
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