From the 21st December 2012 it will no longer be possible to base retirement annuity income rates on gender. This has now been classed as discrimination under a new EU directive.
When preparing your retirement planning, insurance providers look at a number of aspects before they assess the income that they will pay you. Some of these are as follows:
- Age
- Health
- Address
- Gender
The reason gender is taken into account is that women currently out-live men under government statistics. Insurers take this into account and offer men higher annuity rates. The December 2012 legislation changes will mean that men and women will receive the same amount in income from their annuities.
Men who are due to retire after the 21st December 2012 will almost certainly have a reduced pension than what can be achieved at present, even with the low annuity rates being offered now. Whereas women will potentially see annuity rates rise. It could well benefit women by deferring drawing a pension until after this date.
Example: If a retiring male takes out a joint annuity to provide for himself and his spouse then passes away, under the new legislation his spouse would potentially receive less of his pension.
As things stand now annuity rates between various providers can change by up to 27% from the lowest to the highest provider. The Money Map has access to the whole market to enable us to obtain the most suitable quotation for you. We understand that each client is different and requires individual advice.
