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Pension Annuities & the Open Market Option


In the UK when a person reaches retirement age they have the option to convert their pension fund into a regular income that will be paid to them for the rest of their life. This option is known as a pension annuity.

There are a many companies in the UK that offer pension annuity policies. People often wrongly believe that they must purchase an annuity from the same company that holds their pension. This however is not the case and under the Open Market Option (OMO) people are free to take out an annuity plan with any company they choose.

Since annuity rates will vary from company to company it is advantageous to shop around for the best deal on offer. This is the benefit of the Open Market Option. The OMO enables people to seek out the best rates available to maximise their income in retirement. By shopping around pensioners could add up 30 per cent more to their pension income each year. Actually annuity rates on offer will depend on a number of factors including the size of the pension fund, age, sex and life expectancy.

As well as being able to choose between the various annuity providers a person has a choice of a number of different types of annuity policy. Annuities on offer include lifetime annuities, enhanced annuities, scheme pension and with profit annuity. The best annuity to choose will depend on a person's own individual circumstances and preferences. Once a person has chosen a policy they won't be able to change their mind and so it is important to take the time to consider all the available options before making a decision.

Blue River Annuities are pension annuity advisors based in Cheshire. Use our online annuity calculator and find the best annuity rates available in the UK.

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