LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I have a final salary pension from the private manufacturing sector, and I can keep it with the pension company, or I can buy an annuity in the pension market place. It's quite a reasonable sum. Anyone like to advise me where to put this? The figures I have seen on the internet are better than the pension company using well known insurance companies. Anyone know which are the best, etc? All help appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I have a final salary pension from the private manufacturing sector, and I can keep it with the pension company, or I can buy an annuity in the pension market place. It's quite a reasonable sum. Anyone like to advise me where to put this? The figures I have seen on the internet are better than the pension company using well known insurance companies. Anyone know which are the best, etc? All help appreciated. I don't normally have much time for IFAs, but when I bought my annuity in 2008, I spent days on the Internet and phone trying to find the best rate. The rate offered by the pension company that held my pot was, from memory, about 4.3%. The best I could find was about 6%, but an IFA, using a "secret squirrel" database managed to get me 7.6%. Everyone I spoke to at the time urged me to go for income draw-down, but I'm glad I went for the annuity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Some points: Anyone professing to know "the best" annuity provider is an idiot, because amongst other things rates vary hugely depending on circumstances and we don't know yours. The fact that you are asking who is "the best" annuity provider is itself worrying because it ignores the above and suggests you might not have much knowledge about pensions, pension income and your options. You might find for example that you're not properly comparing benefits. Does the pension your final salary scheme provides promise to increase in line with an index? Does the annuity income you're comparing it with also do this? In conclusion due to the complexity of this area and the significance of the outcome you'd be foolish not to take proper professional advice. And pay for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 Agreed. Also remember that sometimes the best paying annuities may not be the best. You are asking for someone to be around for a long time - you need to be as sure as you possibly can be that they will. I think the only truism is 'shop around' DO NOT under any circumstances just accept what the pension provider is pushing. It may be worth trawling HL's articles on pensions just to arm yourself with some considerations: http://www.hl.co.uk/news/articles EDIT: like this: http://www.hl.co.uk/news/articles/archive/banned-the-retirement-forms-that-could-cost-you-in-retirement Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 Some points: Anyone professing to know "the best" annuity provider is an idiot, because amongst other things rates vary hugely depending on circumstances and we don't know yours. The fact that you are asking who is "the best" annuity provider is itself worrying because it ignores the above and suggests you might not have much knowledge about pensions, pension income and your options. You might find for example that you're not properly comparing benefits. Does the pension your final salary scheme provides promise to increase in line with an index? Does the annuity income you're comparing it with also do this? In conclusion due to the complexity of this area and the significance of the outcome you'd be foolish not to take proper professional advice. And pay for it. I'm well aware of the variations, etc. I thought someone with recent experience may be able to offer some relevant advice and maybe experience of a decent company to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 I don't normally have much time for IFAs, but when I bought my annuity in 2008, I spent days on the Internet and phone trying to find the best rate. The rate offered by the pension company that held my pot was, from memory, about 4.3%. The best I could find was about 6%, but an IFA, using a "secret squirrel" database managed to get me 7.6%. Everyone I spoke to at the time urged me to go for income draw-down, but I'm glad I went for the annuity. Many thanks. very useful. Did you go for index linked? Did you take cash? I was going to go for the full 25%, and for the sake of sanity, buy a house (added to a stagnating 'house fund'. How do I get hold of an IFA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 You can find an IFA on This Website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 I don't normally have much time for IFAs, but when I bought my annuity in 2008, I spent days on the Internet and phone trying to find the best rate. The rate offered by the pension company that held my pot was, from memory, about 4.3%. The best I could find was about 6%, but an IFA, using a "secret squirrel" database managed to get me 7.6%. Everyone I spoke to at the time urged me to go for income draw-down, but I'm glad I went for the annuity. Many thanks Can you explain theis a bit more please? ".....but an IFA, using a "secret squirrel" database managed to get me 7.6%" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Many thanks. very useful. Did you go for index linked? Did you take cash? I was going to go for the full 25%, and for the sake of sanity, buy a house (added to a stagnating 'house fund'. How do I get hold of an IFA? Many thanks Can you explain theis a bit more please? ".....but an IFA, using a "secret squirrel" database managed to get me 7.6%" Not index linked as I wanted the maximum income in the early years, before our state pensions kick in. Yes, I took the full 25% tax free lump sum. IFAs have access to online databases not available to the general public. If you don't know an IFA, you could Google "Find an IFA", but remember, IFAs will try to flog you stuff that benefits them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 You may want pm 'wish I could afford one'. He writes a blog called 'Retirement investing today' although he may just be at a different stage. Generally seems quite sensible. http://www.retirementinvestingtoday.com Thanks. I emailed him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Not index linked as I wanted the maximum income in the early years, before our state pensions kick in. Yes, I took the full 25% tax free lump sum. IFAs have access to online databases not available to the general public. If you don't know an IFA, you could Google "Find an IFA", but remember, IFAs will try to flog you stuff that benefits them. Thanks for that. I'm thinking along the same lines. I want to buy a house. If I was younger I would wait for house prices to fall but at my age I think I will buy for the sake of sanity, as this government seem determined to kick the can down the road, and can do so for a few more years. Renting isn't much fun. I was going to get the 25% cash out and add that to my saved 'house fund', buy a house and live off the annuity (my wife gets the state pension and a pension fom the civil service as well). So we can live quite well. No mortgage and enough to live off. However, I was thinking 'outside the box'. I was wondering if I could use my pension to pay a mortgage and leave as much of my cash availble for other recreational things, like boating on the UK canals, for example. I was wondering if you had ever thought of doing something like this.Perhaps make the pension I will get go a bit further, than maybe just going along with conventional actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Thanks for that. I'm thinking along the same lines. I want to buy a house. If I was younger I would wait for house prices to fall but at my age I think I will buy for the sake of sanity, as this government seem determined to kick the can down the road, and can do so for a few more years. Renting isn't much fun. I was going to get the 25% cash out and add that to my saved 'house fund', buy a house and live off the annuity (my wife gets the state pension and a pension fom the civil service as well). So we can live quite well. No mortgage and enough to live off. However, I was thinking 'outside the box'. I was wondering if I could use my pension to pay a mortgage and leave as much of my cash availble for other recreational things, like boating on the UK canals, for example. I was wondering if you had ever thought of doing something like this.Perhaps make the pension I will get go a bit further, than maybe just going along with conventional actions. I won't be buying a house until I see value for money. If that means I'll never own a house again, so be it, the kids will have to make do with a cash inheritance. Renting suits us fine. We rent a UK house as a permanent base, and somewhere to keep our junk, but only live in it for half the year. Currently we're in the south of France for a month, then off to northern France for the summer, then southern Spain for a month or two in November/December. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERWICK Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 I won't be buying a house until I see value for money. If that means I'll never own a house again, so be it, the kids will have to make do with a cash inheritance. Renting suits us fine. We rent a UK house as a permanent base, and somewhere to keep our junk, but only live in it for half the year. Currently we're in the south of France for a month, then off to northern France for the summer, then southern Spain for a month or two in November/December. With your lifestyle, (which I am very envious of lol!) I have no idea why you would want to buy a house at this stage in your life??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Some points: Anyone professing to know "the best" annuity provider is an idiot, because amongst other things rates vary hugely depending on circumstances and we don't know yours. The fact that you are asking who is "the best" annuity provider is itself worrying because it ignores the above and suggests you might not have much knowledge about pensions, pension income and your options. You might find for example that you're not properly comparing benefits. Does the pension your final salary scheme provides promise to increase in line with an index? Does the annuity income you're comparing it with also do this? In conclusion due to the complexity of this area and the significance of the outcome you'd be foolish not to take proper professional advice. And pay for it. Astonishing anyone would risk swapping out of an indexed final salary pension or choose a non-indexed option for what could be a 30+year period. A repeat of the 70s and you're f*cked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Astonishing anyone would risk swapping out of an indexed final salary pension or choose a non-indexed option for what could be a 30+year period. A repeat of the 70s and you're f*cked. It all depends on how important that particular pension is to you. I chose a flat rate annuity at 7.6% because it suited me to have the higher income to start with, when we are active, not being too bothered if it is eroded by inflation over the years. As we get older we will probably spend less. I did the sums and found that a flat rate was best suited to my circumstances. My accountant double checked my calculations and agreed that the flat rate was probably the best way to maximise the return from that pension pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 15, 2013 Author Share Posted May 15, 2013 Astonishing anyone would risk swapping out of an indexed final salary pension or choose a non-indexed option for what could be a 30+year period. A repeat of the 70s and you're f*cked. This pension is from a 14 year working period and matures at 62.5. There's a big difference between the company scheme and an annuity type. My wife gets the state and a small civil service pension. At 65 I will obviously get the state pension and additional for SERPS and earnings, so we both qualify for the full pension each. For another 10 years and 4 years working periods, I get 2 more final salary which I may keep as index linked. If you add it all up, with no rent or mortgage, I should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 With your lifestyle, (which I am very envious of lol!) I have no idea why you would want to buy a house at this stage in your life??? The lifestyle isn't too expensive to support. The apartments we rent in the south of France and Spain are at off season rates and cost us €900pm and €500pm respectively. Both have fully equipped kitchens so we don't need to eat out much. We drive down in our own car which makes life easier as we just chuck our bits and bobs in the boot, and we never need to pay for public transport other than £40 each way for the ferry. Car is a diesel so does about 50MPG and diesel is 25% less in France and Spain. Probably the only reason to buy a house at this stage in our lives is that the prospect of dealing with letting agents in our dotage holds little appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGetReadyToTumble Posted May 18, 2013 Author Share Posted May 18, 2013 Probably the only reason to buy a house at this stage in our lives is that the prospect of dealing with letting agents in our dotage holds little appeal. Amen to that, and being told what you can have/ do and cannot have/ do. Tenants are treated generally like trailer trash and I've had a gut-full now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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