What if I die during my Annuity Guarantee period?

[Diduever]

I have a personal pension fund and am planning to purchase an annuity in the next few months. I am thinking of selecting a guarantee period of 5 years and an ongoing 50% pension to my wife. Under the terms of the guarantee, if I die during the first 5 years of starting to draw the pension the full annuity will continue to be paid into my estate for the remainder of the 5 years after which my wife will start to receive her 50% pension. My wife is the principal beneficiary in my will.

Does this mean that my wife would have to wait until the end of the guarantee period before my estate could be wound up and she would receive any money, either from my estate or from her ongoing pension? i.e. if I die in the first year would she have to wait 4 years before she receives any money from my annuity?

[charitynjw]

Re: What if I die during my Annuity Guarantee period?

Hi Diduever, & welcome to Legal Beagles.

[Diduever]

Re: What if I die during my Annuity Guarantee period?

Sorry that's not helpful. The 'options' in this case have to be pre-selected prior to signing on to an annuity and then become 'fixed'. A bit like when buying a car, motor size may be an 'option' before you purchase but you can't realistically change it after you've bought.

[MIKE770]

Re: What if I die during my Annuity Guarantee period?

a wife will only get a % rate pension from your annuity, ours is quoted at the begining is £550.00 and is priced in the 1st place, but if I remeber correctly I may be wrong there was an option to increase the % to the O.H. but you would need to check this out once and for all, ring the pension company and they will inform you?

[charitynjw]

Re: What if I die during my Annuity Guarantee period?

Sorry that's not helpful. The 'options' in this case have to be pre-selected prior to signing on to an annuity and then become 'fixed'. A bit like when buying a car, motor size may be an 'option' before you purchase but you can't realistically change it after you've bought.

:tinysmile_grin_t:

I think you may have misread my 'signature' - below the line vvvvvvvvv

[Diduever]

Re: What if I die during my Annuity Guarantee period?

Sorry - yes I did.

[Diduever]

Re: What if I die during my Annuity Guarantee period?

Thanks Mike4770 but the issue is not about the %age my wife could get. You are right, it can be predetermined as anything from 0% to 100% and it's called 'joint life'. My concern is about her potentially not getting any income until the end of the guarantee period if the guarantee payments are paid to my estate and her payments don't start until the end of the guarantee period. Anyway I may have solved it because my financial adviser says that I may be able to get the guaranteed payments paid directly to my wife rather than to my estate or alternatively I may be able to overlap the payments for a small reduction in overall pension so that the guarantee payments would go into my estate for the remainder of the guarantee period but she would start getting her 50% immediately upon my death.