Safeguard Your Spouse's Income

A recent survey conducted on behalf of Aviva Life (formerly known as Norwich Union) has revealed that almost two thirds of couples aged over 65 are failing to take out a joint-life annuity because they do not understand what it is. This exposes many bereaved spouses to the risk of receiving no benefit from their partner’s pension pot, simply because of a failure to obtain relevant specialist advice when selecting retirement benefits.

A joint-life annuity ensures that, if the spouse whose pension fund is being used dies first, his or her spouse will receive an ongoing pension for life.

Adding a widow’s or widower’s pension is not always as costly as people expect, although this is dependant on the age difference between the spouses. 

For a male aged 60 buying a pension annuity with a £50,000 fund, a typical single-life annuity payable monthly in arrears with no escalation and no guarantee period would be £3,198 pa.  Adding a 50% widow’s pension for a spouse three years younger would reduce this to £2,957, a reduction of less than 7.5%.

In cases when it is the female buying the annuity the difference is even smaller. 

For a female aged 60 buying a pension annuity as described above, on a single-life basis, a typical annual income would be £3,035 pa.  Adding a 50% widower’s pension for a 63 year-old husband would reduce this by just over 4.6% to £2,895.

Remember that an annuity cannot be altered once it has been set up, so the time to ask questions is before you have committed yourself.  We are happy to provide information and quotations; just use our enquiry form by clicking the button above right, or ring either of the numbers shown below.

Call  0845 123 5590  or  01325 487192