Just before you reach retirement your pension company will provide you with an annuity quotation. Purchasing an annuity is a “one-off” transaction that involves you swapping most, or all, of your pension fund for a guaranteed income for life from the annuity provider.

The Open Market Option or OMO means that you don’t have to settle for the annuity quote given to you by your pension company. In fact, as annuity rates can vary a lot between providers it is crucial that you “shop around” to get the best annuity rate that you can.

As the purchase of an annuity is very likely to be an irreversible decision that will affect you and your family for the rest of your life, it is very important that you:

• Get the best rate that you can
• Find out if you qualify for an enhanced annuity
• Carefully consider the best annuity style for your circumstances, for example; do you want the annuity to continue to be paid to your spouse if you die before them?

Given that it is not compulsory for an annuity to be purchased when drawing retirement benefits, it is important for all available options to be considered. Please phone 0121 233 9922 or click the button below to contact us via email