Corporate Annuity Service

Why offer an open market option?

The Government and regulators have become increasingly concerned that individuals could be losing out on additional retirement income by not obtaining the most competitive retirement annuity.

The chart below shows the diversity of the annuity market. By choosing not to see what is available on the full market, an individual could be missing out on up to 19% of extra income every year in retirement. Those who smoke could miss out on up to 33% extra, while those in serious ill-health could miss out on up to 50% of extra income in every year of retirement.

(Source: Hargreaves Lansdown, 27th February 2008, Based on a male aged 65, with a female spouse aged 62, securing a level annuity on a joint life basis with a pension fund of £100,000 with a five year guarantee paid monthly in arrears.)

Direct contribution pension arrangements that an annuity can be used for:

• Occupational money purchase schemes
• Group personal pensions
• Group stakeholder pensions
• AVCs & FSAVCs
• Personal pensions

Key features of the HL Retirement Annuity Service:

• Unlimited online annuity quotations
• Quick, straightforward and transparent access to a selection of competitive annuity rates
• Ability to deal with the smallest funds through to the largest funds
• Help in identifying those eligible for impaired life annuities, to achieve maximum income for those in ill-health
• Simple, jargon-free literature for employees with online and telephone support
• Direct help to employees on a non-advisory basis

Key benefits of the HL Retirement Annuity Service

• Our service can enable trustees to manage some of the risks associated with annuity purchase
• For any contract-based pension schemes the service can sit alongside the scheme and provide a valuable and additional employee benefit
• The scheme member can be reassured that they will be guided through an otherwise complicated minefield
• The employer can rest assured that the fund they helped build will be converted into a competitive annuity and that their employee has been presented with all available options
• We often find our service to be 50% lower in transaction costs than many other annuity brokers and consultancies, and can still be available to employers/trustees at no cost

Companies that use our Retirement Annuity Service:

• Accenture HR Services
• BP
• BT Retirement Plan
• Daily Mail and General Trust plc
• Dyson
• Gap
• ITN
• J Sainsbury plc
• Johnston Press
• Joint Industry Board
• Marconi
• Rentokil Initial
• Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd
• WH Smith
• Woolworths Group Plc
• Xerox