S.O.E.Consultants Limited is a small firm of Independent Financial Advisers, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, offering advice and recommendation on Pensions, Investments, Mortgages and Insurance. Help and advice with pension release and pension unlocking. Help finding Best Annuity Rates and Which Annuity Provider.

Finding the Best Annuity Rates.

Finding the best annuity rates and which annuities provider to choose can be a complicated process. As with most things it is usually sensible to shop around to find the best deal before making a purchase. When the time comes to buying an annuity, to provide you with an income during your retirement, it is important to remember that this is a once in a life time decision. Once purchased, your annuity cannot be transfered or exchanged and will be with you for the rest of your life. With this in mind, the annuity which you eventually choose will impact heavily on your future financial security and it is important that that you choose very carefully.A pension annuity is a contract with an insurance company which will provide you with an income for the rest of your life in exchange for your pension fund. It is usually best not to purchase an annuity from your exsisting pension provider without first making sure that they are offering you the very best rates available. Buying an annuity directly from your pension company could cost you thousands of pounds over your lifetime and it is usually possibly to recieve a larger retirement income from a different annuity provider. Always check the annuity rates from a variety of providers before commiting yourself as your final choice of annuity will impact heavily on your future financial security.Here are a few questions to consider before purchasing your annuity.How healthy am I?If you suffer from certain medical conditions you could be entitled to an enhansed annuity rate of up to 30%. If you are a smoker, have been hospitalised for a series condition, have a current medical condition or are currently taking perscription mediciation you could be eligible to an increased income from your annuity. You do not have to have a serious medical condition to qualify for these enhanced rates. Do I want my annuity to cover my partner in the event of my death?If you want your partner to continue to recieve benefits from your pension, if you die before them, you will need to purchase a joint life annuity. This will enable your partner or spouse to continue to recieve to an income untill their death. You can choose what percentage you would like your partner to recieve and this in turn will effect the initial income which you recieve.Do I want to secure my annuity against the effects of inflation?If you are worried that the effects of inflation over time will decrease the value of your pension income then, you can choose to take an annuity that provides an income moving in line with the retail prices index. This will, in effect, keep the buying power of you pension inline with any future price rises. You can also choose an income that increases by a fixed percentage every year. Over time this might provide you with a greater total income than a level annuity although the initial income was lower. Do I want my pension payments to be guaranteed for a certain period of time?All annuities will pay you an income for the rest of your life however if you are not going to purchase a joint annuity and you die before your partner, they will no longer be able to recieve the benefits from your pension. It is possible to have your payments guaranteed for a specific period of time, usually between five and ten years, this will provide a continued income to your estate or specific persons named in your will. Choosing which annuity provider can be a difficult decision and it is often sensible to seek Independent Financial Advice. S.O.E. Consultants Limited is a small firm of Independent Financial Advisers authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (Ref: 476574) offering free, no obligation advice and recommendation on pensions, investments, mortgages and life assurance.

Pension Release and Pension Unlocking

Pension drawdown, often known as pension release or pension unlocking, is the process of accessing some of the money that you have invested into your pension over your working lifetime. If you hold a UK private or company pension which you are not already receiving benefits from and you are between the ages of 55 - 62 years old you could be eligible to release up to 25% of your pension as a tax free lump sum without having to take your pension income and without having to retire. You can carry on working and continue to make further contributions to your pension which will continue to benefit from a tax efficient environment.Because pension release will ultimately reduce the income that you will receive in retirement they will make sure that you have looked at all the other possible alternatives for raising money before embarking on pension release. Releasing cash from your pension could also effect any means tested State Benefits to which you are entitled. It is therefore extremely important to remember that pension release is only suitable for a very limited number of people and circumstances and should not be seen as an easy way to raise cash. The FSA see this as a high risk activity and should only be undertaken when all other avenues have been explored. Taking the benefits of your pension early will affect your retirement income and your standard of living in retirement and it is vital that you seek expert advice before you try to release cash from your pension.?S.O.E. Consultants Limited are a small firm of Independent Financial Advisers with over 50 years experience between us. We offer an advice based process rather than a sales based process. We look at contractual terms, charges, financial strength, consistent performance, fund options & ongoing policy and administration. We offer regular updates & reviews. S.O.E. has offices across Gloucestershire, Dorset & Berkshire and have clients across the UK, Europe, North America & the Far East. We are authorised and regulated by the FSA the UK's financial watchdog set up by the government to regulate financial services and protect your rights. Authorisation (Ref: 476574). ?We are committed to providing the highest standard of financial advice and investment service. As a firm we take seriously the requirements of the Financial Services Authority, in particular the requirement to treat our customers fairly. We strive to do this in all that we do. We undertake that all of our actions will be guided by the principle that the interests of our customers are paramount. Our systems and procedures are designed to place our customers at the heart of the business.When we give advice you can expect the following:We will only recommend suitable investments and other products after finding out sufficient information about your circumstances to be able to advise properly. Our advice will be guided only by what is best for our customers. We will set out in writing in clear concise terms why we have recommended any particular investment or product. We will inform you in advance of our charges and how these could be paid.If any commission is paid because you invest in any product or investment then we will tell you how much this is. In the event there is a conflict of interest between us and you, we will tell you about this as soon as we can after becoming aware of this. We will keep comprehensive records of our dealings with you and will record your attitude to risk.Where appropriate, and where agreed between us, we will monitor your investments and other financial products and contact you to let you know how they are doing.In our dealings with you, you can expect the following;When you contact us you can expect that we will be polite and courteous. All of our staff are trained in dealing with our customers and in treating them fairly. When we write to you we will be clear and straightforward; we will try not to use jargon or technical terms. We will be happy to discuss or clarify any matter. We will remunerate and incentivise our staff in ways which encourage them to deal with our customers fairly and impartially and to continually find ways to improve our service. You can expect that all our staff are trained properly for their roles. All of our advisory staff are qualified financial advisers and are fully trained in respect of the investments and products on which they advise.For more information on pension release and pension unlocking please contact us.?