Find Out If You Qualify For Enhanced Annuities Using The Annuity Calculator

By Author: Acelin Devon
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As you approach retirement you will be considering how you are going to find the best annuity rates. You will receive a pack from your pension company outlining their proposal for your pension. At this time in your life you should consider shopping around with your pension fund to see if you qualify for enhanced annuity rates. An annuity calculator can help you find annuity rates and tell you if you possibly qualify for enhanced annuity rates.

An annuity calculator is a simple to use piece of software that very quickly tells you the rates of annuity providers from the entire market. Entering your basic details will allow you to compare the annuity rates you have been offered by your pension company against those of the other providers.

The information that the annuity calculator requires is your name and address, your date of birth, your gender and then you select options that you want built into your annuity. The options you can choose from are:

Frequency of income
Income paid in advance or in arrears
Increase in Payment (Escalation)
Partner's Pension
Tax Free Cash
Guarantee ...
... periods

The frequency of income can be monthly, quarterly, 6 monthly or annually and this income can be paid in arrears or in advance, most retirees choose in advance as they require the payments to start immediately.

Once the annuity calculator has given you the base annuity rate, you need to consider whether you need the income to increase in payment, referred to as escalation. Also if you were to die you can have the payments paid to a partner and you can choose the level from 100% of the payments to none. The majority of retirees that are married choose 50% for this option.

When you take the benefits from your private pension you are allowed to take a maximum of 25% of the value of the total pension fund if you wish. This payment will be free of income tax. You are not obliged to do so and it will reduce the annuity paid to you if you do.

The final option is guarantee period, this will allow you pension income payments to continue in the event of your death before the end of the guarantee period chosen. So if you chose a 10 year guarantee and died after 36 monthly payments the annuity income would continue to pay for a further 84 monthly payments.

Finally the annuity calculator will provide you with an indication of the rates available for smokers and people with poor health, these type of annuities are called enhanced annuities.

Based in the UK, Retirement Solutions are Independent Financial Advisers (IFA) who can find you the best annuity rates from the annuity tables or by using their unique annuity calculator and provide advice from the entire market.