Aviva enhanced pension annuity

If eligible, the Aviva enhanced pension annuity pays a higher income if you have (or have previously had) one of a range of medical or lifestyle conditions affecting your health and longevity.

The Aviva enhanced pension annuity is designed for people who don't have a perfect bill of health or are expected to have shorter than average life expectancies. The Aviva enhanced pension annuity could pay you a higher income if you have (or have previously had) cancer, a heart attack, diabetes or many other conditions affecting your health. See below for the conditions covered.

Aviva also takes into consideration some lifestyle choices or conditions, which are factors that can affect your health like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high alcohol consumption, obesity or smoking. Even if you are deemed to be perfectly healthy, you could still benefit from an Aviva enhanced pension Annuity if your spouse, civil partner or dependant has one of the conditions covered and you want to include them in your annuity by providing a dependant’s pension.

As with a normal Aviva pension annuity, you buy an Aviva enhanced pension annuity with your accrued pension fund. The minimum amount needed to buy an Aviva enhanced pension annuity is £10,000, after you've taken any tax-free cash or pension commencement lump sum.

Which conditions are covered?

It depends on the stage and severity of the condition and you may need an assessment by medical professionals. Please contact Annuity Arrow for us to determine if you are eligible of an enhanced annuity from Aviva or another annuity provider. Different annuity companies allow different conditions and/or place different weightings on different conditions. This means it’s possible that one insurer will pay more for a condition than others and some annuity companies won’t offer enhanced annuity terms on certain conditions. By clicking here you can see a general list of the conditions normally covered by Aviva. However, please remember that annuity companies and their actuaries regularly review and amend the conditions and annuity rates. Therefore, it’s best to speak with an annuity advisor such as Annuity Arrow if you're not sure whether something would be covered and so that we may search the market for the best enhanced annuity rates.

What are the options?

The options you choose will affect the amount of pension income you'll get. You can get a personalised illustration so that you can see the difference the various options make to your pension income. The options are:

Level income. The income will be paid at the same level for the rest of your life.
Escalating income. Your pension income will increase by a fixed percentage each year for the rest of your life.
Inflation proof income. Your pension will increase in line with inflation (as measured by the RPI) each year for the rest of your life.
Dependant's pension. You can choose for a dependant to continue to receive an income after you die and also choose whether this is paid at the same level as your pension income or lower.
Guaranteed period. You can choose to add a guarantee for up to 10 years. If you die during this period, your income will continue to be paid to your estate until the end of the guaranteed period.
Payment options. Your income can be made monthly, quarterly, biannually or annually, either:

In advance. This means that payment of your pension income will be from the start date.
In arrears. This means that payment will be one month, quarter, half a year or a year after the start date, depending on your chosen payment frequency.

Choose the start and payment date. If you decide to be paid monthly, you can choose to have your pension income paid on a certain date each month. However, the first payment must be within one month of the start date of the annuity plan.

What are the benefits?

Guaranteed income. The Aviva enhanced annuity promises to pay you a regular income for life, so its a low-risk option.
Income choice. The pension income from your Aviva enhanced annuity can be paid monthly, quarterly, biannually or annually, either ‘in advance' (this means that payment of your pension income will be from the start date) or ‘in arrears' (this means payment will be from a month, quarter, half year or year after the start date, depending on your chosen payment frequency).
Clear transparent charges. The charges levied by Aviva for setting up and running your plan are taken into account when Aviva works out your pension annuity rate/pension income level. No further charges will be taken once the annuity plan has commenced

Things to think about

Cash in or surrender value. Once you've bought your Aviva enhanced annuity, it has no cash in or surrender value at any time.
Your annuity ends when you die. This means that you may not receive your money's worth from your Aviva annuity if you die soon after taking it out.
Changing your plan. You cannot change the options you choose at the commencement of the Aviva enhanced annuity plan.

Annuity Arrow is not endorsing Aviva or its annuity products. Nor are we recommended Aviva over any other annuity provider. Contact Annuity Arrow, provide us with your personal circumstances so that we can search the annuity market and recommend the most suitable annuity product and find the best annuity rates.