Pension Annuity

A Pension Annuity provides you with a guaranteed income for the rest of your life. It is bought using money from your pension fund and is a low risk option. You may be entitled to a higher income depending on certain health or lifestyle conditions. You can buy a Pension Annuity providing you have at least £10,000 remaining after you've taken any tax-free cash from your pension fund.

What are the benefits?

• Guaranteed income. It promises to pay you a regular income for life, so it's a low risk option.
• Income choice. You can receive your annuity income monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually. Payments can be 'in advance' (from the start date) or 'in arrears' (at your chosen payment interval after the start date).
• You may get a higher income if you don't have a clean bill of health or you have (or have previously had) one of a range of medical conditions affecting your health or longevity. You may also be eligible if you have lifestyle conditions such as you smoke or are overweight. Check out our list of conditions normally covered (PDF 70KB).
• No surprise charges. We take our charges into account when we work out the price of your initial annuity.
• No change to income. Once started, your annuity income will not go down, even if your health, or your spouses health, if applicable, improves.

Things to think about

• Depending on how long you live you may get back less than you bought your annuity for.
• No cash-in value. Once you've bought an annuity it cannot be cashed in at any time.
• You can take out an annuity that stops whenever you die. Or, alternatively, you can choose an annuity with a smaller income but which is guaranteed to be paid for at least either five or ten years, even if you die during that time. This is called the 'guarantee period'. If you live beyond the guarantee period, the annuity will still carry on paying until you die.
• Changing your plan. The options you choose at the start of your plan can't be changed.

Your options

You can:

• Choose whether you receive the same amount each year, or your payments start off smaller, but increase either by a fixed percentage, typically 3% or 5%, or in line with inflation.
• Choose from a number of options which determine the level of regular income you will receive. Read more about the different options.

Retirement Income Calculator

To find out how much income you may get from your pension fund and to understand the different annuity options available, use our Retirement Income Calculator. If you have any lifestyle/medical conditions you may get a higher income, so make sure you fill in these details.

Calculate your retirement income

Get a quick quote

If you've already decided that a Pension Annuity is right for you and you don't have any medical/lifestyle conditions to tell us about, use our Quick Quote Tool to find out how much income you could get.

Get a Quick Quote

How to apply

If our Pension Annuity seems right for you, or for further advice, talk to an Aviva adviser by calling 0800 068 3038 ^*. We can only advise on our own products. If you have an Independent Financial Adviser please contact them directly.

Read the key features of a Pension Annuity (PDF 114KB)

* Lines are open Monday to Friday 8.00am to 9.00pm, Saturday 9.00am to 5.00pm. Calls may be recorded and/or monitored

WC01042 01/2012