What’s the deal with enhanced annuities?

Client 2 - Helen

Helen runs a small art gallery in Carnoustie, where she’s lived all her life. She owns her own home and currently lives with her two adult children, Michael and Sophie.

Helen was diagnosed with coronary heart disease in November 2021 and has decided to retire now, at 62. She has a total pension pot of £126,000.

Client 3 - Gloria

Gloria is 67. She’s semi-retired and lives in London with her husband, Bruce. They plan to downsize and move to the south coast, close to where Gloria spent her childhood.

Gloria has been treated for type 2 diabetes since she was 45. She has a total pension pot of £250,000 and would like to use half to buy a guaranteed income for life and leave the rest invested.

Client 4 - Matthew

Matthew works as a senior manager at an oil refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland. He’s currently 55 and has a passion for football – which he shares with his husband, Innes.

Matthew suffered a stroke while at work back in 2017. He plans to semi-retire and would like to use £100,000 from his total pension savings of £450,000 to buy a pension annuity. He wants to leave the rest invested so it can potentially benefit from future growth.

Client 5 - Antonio

Antonio is 66 and has worked as a chef for almost thirty years. He currently lives in Northampton with his wife, Kathy, and their three children.

Antonio was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2020 and, after successful treatment, is currently in remission. He wants to retire now and has a total pension pot of £97,000.

Start your conversations with the right tools

Whenever you ask for a pension annuity quote, your client’s health and lifestyle conditions are usually taken into account. This helps the provider determine, from the outset, whether your client qualifies for a standard or enhanced rate.

This being the case, it’s really important that you’re able to fully disclose as much health and lifestyle information as you can up front. 

To make it easier for you to capture everything, we suggest you use the industry standard Retirement Health Form. You can download a copy at: retirementhealthform.co.uk/adviser.

Does my client need a medical?

As always, you should check the conditions of any quote so you’re clear on what extra information you’ll need to provide if you client was to progress to an application.

For a Standard Life Pension Annuity, we usually wouldn’t ask them to attend a medical examination – but they may need to complete a health questionnaire.

At times, we may also ask your client’s permission to approach their doctor for a medical report – or ask them to carry out a medical test to confirm the information they’ve given us is correct.

If the information your client provides is incomplete or inaccurate, or if a medical test or permission to approach their doctor is refused, we may reduce the annuity payments being paid and/or seek recovery of any payments we’ve already made. 

Take a closer look at the Standard Life Pension Annuity

Our pension annuity can be written on standard or enhanced terms. So if your client is suffering from lifestyle and/or medical conditions, they could get more for their money.

We also offer a range of optional features, such as death benefits and inflation proofing, helping you to tailor your client’s annuity to match their exact needs.

Visit our product page to find out more.