Pre-Retirement Counselling

CTVC

All too often individuals accept the annuity rate offered by the company looking after their pension fund without investigating what other rates are available in the market. This is usually due to the fact that scheme members are unaware that they can “shop around”.

This is why, approximately 6 months prior to normal retirement age, all members of pension schemes looked after by Creative Benefits (Creative) are contacted by them to offer advice regarding the pension options available.

This advice, more often than not, raises opportunities of which the retiring individual is unaware.

One such case for an employee at CTVC, an award winning radio and television broadcasting company, illustrates this point.

One of Creative’s Wealth Management Consultants contacted a female employee for a pre retirement consultation and as a result of the detailed factfind conversation ascertained that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer three years previously and as a result had had a mastectomy. The operation had been successful although she was still undergoing a drug programme to aid full recovery.

Enhanced annuity rates are often available for people with a health issue and her circumstances highlighted the need to investigate this further.

Creative’s consultant suggested the member should complete an underwriting questionnaire which was forwarded to a number of providers of enhanced annuity rates in order to obtain quotes.

Once the quotes were received their terms, conditions and rates were compared. After careful consideration Creative recommended to the member that she buy her annuity from MGM Advantage, specialists in retirement income, and one of the longest registered companies in the UK.

As a result this retiree now enjoys an annual annuity that is over 50% higher than it would have been if she had taken the annuity offered by the company with whom she had saved for her pension.

“I was amazed that Creative was able to get me such an improved pension.” said the pleased recipient “If they hadn’t taken the time to speak to me when I was coming up to retirement I would never had known it was possible”

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