order to secure the best rates in the market. Press comment indicates that a very large proportion of pensioners do not take up their option and lose a very significant enhancement to their pension. We hope the comments below give some background but emphasise that professional assistance is needed to get the best from your pension investments.

Annuity Guarantees

With profit pension policies used to be a popular form of investment for people saving for their retirement (maybe not so now after recent big reductions in bonus rates and adverse publicity about insurance companies in difficulty - although the policies still have advantages). A "normal" associated feature of these policies was to guarantee the minimum terms of conversion to pension at the policy "vesting" date (the retirement date). These guaranteed terms were set when interest rates were far higher than they are now and expectation of life was much shorter. So the guaranteed terms under most policies are very much better than current annuity rates. We have analysed many of these policies and have found the terms to equate to an enhancement as much as 50% of the policy value - not to be given up lightly!

Care is needed not to vest too early or too late and miss these very beneficial terms, or to transfer out which will also lose the benefit.