How to apply

Now you’ve decided on an annuity, there are a few key steps that might help you to make sure you get the best deal possible.

• If you haven’t already, get a quote from your current pension company to see how much you’d get from them.
• Take some time to decide what you want to do in your retirement and how much income you’ll need. (As a rule of thumb, most people find they need around two-thirds to three-quarters of the income they had when working.)
• Take some time to find details of any ‘old’ pensions that you have, for example pensions with previous companies you worked for. These can all be combined to help boost your income. If you’ve lost touch with a previous company then you can try the Pensions Tracing Service available from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
• If you haven’t already received one, you can also ask the DWP to give you an estimate of the amount of state pension you’ll receive.
• Research your options with a financial adviser and don’t forget to compare quotes using the open market option to find the best deal for you.
• Get quotes from the other providers you’ve chosen. Your financial adviser will do this for you if you’ve got one. To get a quote from us, call 08456 01 52 73.
• Decide what benefits you need to add to your annuity, for example partner’s pension, escalation or guarantee period.
• Apply for your annuity, making sure you have:
  • proof of age/identity – for example birth certificate, photo driving licence
  • proof of marriage/civil partnership, if you’re applying for a partner’s pension
  • details of your current pension plan, for example which company it’s with, policy number, current value if known, and amount of protected rights (you may have protected rights money in your pension if you were ever contracted out of the State Second Pension)  

To take out an annuity with us, make sure you have all the information we listed above then contact us for a quote.

You can either: phone us on 08456 01 52 73 or email us at annuitiesmb@aegon.co.uk

Find out more

If you want more info on our annuities please see our consumer brochure, A certain future, and our key features. If you ask us for a quote we’ll automatically send you these and all the other documents you’ll need to set up the annuity.

Getting a quote

To provide a quote for you, we’ll need to ask you for some personal details like your date of birth, full name and your partner’s or husband or wife’s details and your address and postcode.

We’ll also need to know approximately how much your current pension is worth and what level of protected rights there is in it, if any. You may have protected rights money in your pension if you were ever contracted out of the State Second Pension. Depending on the type of protected rights you have, there are certain benefits you have to buy, for example a spouse’s pension. Your pension company will be able to tell you if you have protected rights and it should also appear on your valuation or yearly statement.

We’ll also ask you if you want us to pay you any tax-free cash or if this will already have been paid by your previous company.

If you have a financial adviser, they’ll usually do all this for you.

You’ll normally get your quote within 48 hours. If you want to see how adding different options will change your annuity, we can give you extra quotes showing this.

Taking out an annuity with us

Once you’ve a quote you’re happy with, you’ll need to complete the application form we send with your quote. You’ll also need to send us proof of your age/identity and proof of your marriage or civil partnership. If you want us to set up a pension for any other dependants, you’ll also need to send us proof of their relationship to you and their financial dependency.

Once we receive your application and the evidence we need (we’ll return the originals to you), we do everything else. We’ll contact your previous company for the information we need from them and then chase them on a regular basis so that we can get your annuity set up as soon as possible.

Once we’ve got everything we need, we’ll confirm how much we received from your pension company and how much your annuity will be and start making payments into your account. Remember values may change from those originally quoted by your previous pension company.

Next steps

After reading this section contact us for a quote. Phone 08456 01 52 73* or email us.

* We may monitor or record calls for training and quality purposes. Our staff can only provide information about our own products. They're not allowed to give you financial advice.

Further information... Who should I talk to?

Speak to your financial adviser to find out more. If you don’t have an adviser, Unbiased.co.uk or the Society of Financial Advisers can help you find one.