Pension annuity rates - the options for joint policies
Those people who are married may consider taking out a joint pension annuity. The cost of the premiums are usually higher than a single policy as the provider will expect to be paying out for a longer period of time in the event of a sudden death. Taking out a joint policy doesn’t only have to include your spouse or live in partner. Many of the joint pension annuity funds cover the children too, which are quite often paid for a fixed number of years after the parent or parents’ death. The amount of time that the financial dependants will receive a regular income from this type of pension varies between different annuity companies.
The pension annuity rates paid to the spouse or children of the annuitant also depends on what he or she was earning at the time of death. The amount can be anything from 100% of the deceased salary to 50% depending on the type of policy you take out and the pension annuity company which you deal with. For those of you who do have children under the age of 16, one thing to bear in mind is that they will need financial support if they are to continue into higher education. Some people may have a partner who is physically handicapped and would need an income to pay for care workers if you were to pass away at an unexpected time. We never know what’s around the corner so it’s always a good idea to be prepared.