Pension Annuity

[MikeyBikey]

It turns out I have a small amount in a legacy pension scheme. I am interested what sort of annuity it would be. The problem is every website wants call your details which then get passed onto Tom, Dick and Harry! Anybody know where I can get an estimate with just age, approximate location and some medical details. Or am I allowed to just withdraw the money. It's Scottish Windows. I want to avoid IFAs for the moment as most are more corrupt than recently outed politicians. In fact there are two I would like to see jailed!

 

[helli]

I have just checked out a random annuity calculator. While it asks for contact details, you don’t have to enter a valid name and email address. Or rather, if you do MickeyMouse is receiving details about a fictional person’s fictional pension.

 

[AndBreathe]

It turns out I have a small amount in a legacy pension scheme. I am interested what sort of annuity it would be. The problem is every website wants call your details which then get passed onto Tom, Dick and Harry! Anybody know where I can get an estimate with just age, approximate location and some medical details. Or am I allowed to just withdraw the money. It's Scottish Windows. I want to avoid IFAs for the moment as most are more corrupt than recently outed politicians. In fact there are two I would like to see jailed!

Mikey, with respect, I doubt a general idea will give you a valid steer. Whilst none of us like to think of ourselves as "impaired lives", but it can be surprising what sort of thing helps you be awarded a slightly better income from whatever posh pot you have.

If the amount in your post is modest (less than £10,000), it could be worth looking at cashing it all at once, under triviality rules.

Clearly, what any individual does with their money is personal, but with pensions in particular, it is important to seek professional advice as all actions have consequences. The Pensions Advisory Service really is worthwhile: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-pensions-advisory-service

 

[Wendal]

It turns out I have a small amount in a legacy pension scheme. I am interested what sort of annuity it would be. The problem is every website wants call your details which then get passed onto Tom, Dick and Harry! Anybody know where I can get an estimate with just age, approximate location and some medical details. Or am I allowed to just withdraw the money. It's Scottish Windows. I want to avoid IFAs for the moment as most are more corrupt than recently outed politicians. In fact there are two I would like to see jailed!

Hi Mikey,
Hope you are well and as you will be aware there are a number of options.
You can contact Scottish Widows direct and they should provide you with annuity details based on the info you supply.There are a few things very personal to you although there are on line calculators that can give you a rough idea based on amount of pension pot and your age plus your medical details( this can have a big effect on actual amount.Then depends on what type of annuity single/ joint and whether you want it to go up with inflation.
Normally 25% is tax free and of course you can just do draw down rather than buy an annuity and there are some for pension pots of a smaller size that offer more flexibility.
My neighbour is an IFA and I can speak to him with no names no packdrill for some informal advice if that is of help.
You can always DM me.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Or am I allowed to just withdraw the money.

I think that’s one of the most important questions to ask yourself really - whether drawdown, or a guaranteed annuity is more likely to benefit you more.

 

[AndBreathe]

I think that’s one of the most important questions to ask yourself really - whether drawdown, or a guaranteed annuity is more likely to benefit you more.

Whilst I agree with you, most income drawdown arrangements need to have a "decent" pot to begin with. @MikeyBikey 's post suggest a modest sum.

For the avoidance of doubt @MikeyBikey, I am not subtly asking how big your pot is, and I would strongly advise against making any such declaration on a public forum. I am just interpreting your OP.

 

[AndBreathe]

@MikeyBikey - I just googled Hargreaves Lounsden for info on Drawdown pension arrangements (I can't recall the ball park minima to qualify), but if you put in your age and pension pot size, their website gives an indication of available tax-free cash sums, then drawdown income, versus an annnuity, but I do stress in your shoes, an impaired life annuity would almost certainly be available and be a higher than "normal".

 

[helli]

It's Scottish Windows.

If it's Scottish Windows shouldn't it be transparent?
I'll get my coat ...

 

[trophywench]

@MikeyBikey - FWIW our IFA amalgamated some of my tiddly bits of pension into one 'impaired life' annuity and transformed what would have collectively only been a piffling amount a month into a reasonable amount - I stress that this was now nearly 20 years ago and at the time only two of my pots were in 3 figures monthly. This annuity took single figures into double - worth having, anyway. Only snag with such a thing is that the 'payout' never increases whereas the individual ones would increase by whatever amount those schemes all increase - so the one I paid into for the longest has gradually increased less quickly than one with less years service in my employment cos it was a more favourable scheme.

Most years - an insurance company. Next one - an insurance broker.

(Talk about changing from a gamekeeper to a poacher, eh! )

 

[silver minion]

My hubby has some pension investments with Scottish Widows. We phoned them to discuss our options and found them helpful and thorough. They were quite clear that we should take independent financial advice and were not obliged to take an annuity with them. Lots of paperwork confirming all our options followed. All sorted out very quickly to our satisfaction.