Are you certain you've been given the highest pension annuity on the market?

Plenty of people skirt round the issue of annuities because they don't think they have the information at hand to make the right choice.

But standing still and doing nothing is just about the worse thing one can do as it will mean you are likely to end up with a much lower income. The initial objective is to find out what is on offer from your current pension provider. Once you have done this you can then work out which option is best for you.

There are a few options available about who to speak to with regard to your pensionable income. In broad terms you have the option to consult with the following.... annuity providers, IFA's and pension specialists. The option you choose from these will hang on... the volume of money in your pension pot and whether you need paid for advice. Generally speaking, people with smaller funds tend not to feel like they should consult with an IFA as their fund is not worth the fees.

If you are still not certain about who to speak to it is worth noting that a broker you everything you need to do without charging a penny. This is facilitated by means of the broker taking a proportion from the provider of the annuity when you sign on the dotted line. So if you commission an IFA to work with you on this you could well find you are in reality paying two times due to this possibility of a commission. A further thing to be aware of is that some but not all IFA's fail to compare the open market properly.

You now could be wondering to yourself... why must I contrast annuity offers to get the best rates? Well, the reply to this is very straight forward... if you do not shop around you may lose a substantial amount of income. The aggregate amount of lost money could even stretch as far as 43% or greater. Hardly surprising then that many people sorely regret not utilising their right to use the Open Market Option.

The predominant reason why those in their 50's and 60's fail to get extra annuity income is that they did not enquire about enhanced annuities. Annuity enhancement is presented to those who have an illness which bears an impact on how long they are likely to live. A typical habit which would qualify one for a better annuity would be heavy drinking and also regular smoking of tobacco. Your typical medical conditions would be... Alzheimers, Rheumatoid arthritis and other related problems.

You only get one chance at finding the annuity on the market, as once it is bought it cannot be changed. For this reason it is imperative that you compare providers and do not except the first offer.

In conclusion, always remember that you are not compelled to pay for an IFA if you feel you don't need one - use a broker are often are free of charge.