A pension annuity is used to convert capital within a pension plan into a regular guaranteed lifetime income. As you do not have to buy your pension annuity from the same insurance company that manages your pension, it makes sense to "shop around" and obtain the best pension annuity available.

All pension annuity quotes are enhanced Use our free service to "shop around" for you Qualified pension annuity specialists

Our pension annuity service
Our pension annuity service is free and is designed to do the "shopping around" for you. We research all the leading annuity providers and enhance the rates by discounting our commission to provide you with the very best pension annuity. Our pension annuity service is also available for impaired life annuity, with profit annuity, income drawdown, and smoker annuity rates. Request a quote and application pack.

Pension plans to convert to an annuity
Under current legislation you must convert your pension plans into a pension annuity before the age of 75. Pension plans include: personal pensions, stakeholder pensions, group personal pensions, executive pension plans, retirement annuity contracts, (pensions sold prior to July 1988), additional voluntary contribution schemes (AVC), free standing additional voluntary contribution (FSAVC) schemes, section 32 buyout bonds and employers pension schemes known as money purchase schemes. Please note our pension annuity service is not available if you have a final salary pension scheme.

All savings from these pension plans can be used, and this is known as using your open market option to obtain a higher annuity rate. A detailed explanation of the different types of pension plans can be found in our glossary of terms.

Flexibility and choice
With most types of pension you are free to choose the type of pension annuity that suits you best. After taking any tax free cash that is available you can choose to have your income paid to you monthly, or annually, level or increasing, with or without any guarantee period and on a single or joint life basis.

If appropriate you can choose to split your capital to provide a mixture of level and increasing annuity income. Further details of these options can be found in our annuity glossary.

The FSA guide to annuities and income drawdown also contains useful information about the different types of pension and annuity options available at retirement. You can download this free guide from our document centre.

Protected rights annuity
This is a pension annuity that is purchased with money from an appropriate personal pension plan that has been used to contract out of SERPS or the state second tier pension, SP2. Known as protected rights, the government dictates how and when you take the benefits, and you have little choice on how this annuity is set up. You are still free to "shop around" and obtain the best pension annuity available.

Purchased life annuity
Information on the benefits and tax treatment of purchased life annuities and immediate care annuities can be found in our glossary of terms.

Alternative options
At retirement benefits are normally taken in the form of a one off tax-free cash payment with the balance of the capital used to purchase a pension annuity to provide a guaranteed income for the rest of your life. Phased retirement and income drawdown plans allow you to structure your retirement income in a different way. These pension plans can provide favourable income tax and inheritance tax benefits and provide the opportunity to defer purchasing a pension annuity but still provide an income.

A with profit annuity offers a slightly different alternative to both a traditional pension annuity and income drawdown plans.

You should also review our impaired life annuity page to check if you qualify for an impaired or enhanced pension annuity.

To request a quote
Complete our online pension annuity quote form or call one of our specialist annuity advisers to request your free pension annuity quote. As an internet based firm of independent financial advisers we provide advice over the telephone, via email and through the post. Dealing with you in this way allows us to discount our commission to provide you with the very best pension annuity. We aim to provide all traditional pension annuity quotes within 24 hours. Impaired life and enhanced pension annuity quotes are normally provided within 48 hours.

Help & advice
There are many different options to consider when choosing a pension annuity and it makes sense to take advice from a qualified pension annuity specialist who is independent and can offer you products and services from the whole of the market place. Please call one of our independent advisers or contact us to discuss the different options available to you and to request a quote for your pension annuity.