Impaired Life And Enhanced Annuities

Some companies offer annuities that pay you a higher-than-normal income if you have a health problem that threatens to reduce your lifespan. These are called impaired life annuities.

Higher rates of enhancement are available for conditions such as cancer, chronic asthma, diabetes, heart attack, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis or stroke.

Minor conditions such as raised blood pressure and high Cholesterol may enhance your annuity rate even if controlled by medication.

You might be able to get an enhanced annuity if you are overweight, or smoke regularly.

Some companies also offer higher rates to people who have worked in certain occupations or who live in certain areas of the country, so shop around and compare the income you can get from different providers.

Why Do My Health And Lifestyle Make A Difference?

An annuity quotation may feel almost like a cold-hearted calculation of your personal longevity. That's because there is more than just an element of truth in this. If you are able to prove to a life assurance company that you are not likely to be very long for this world, due to ill health, they may offer a higher annuity rate to you than they would to a healthier individual.

Some companies also offer higher annuity rates for smokers, those with specified health issues and those who have worked in certain industries. This type of annuity is known as 'impaired life', 'impaired health' or, less brutally finitely as 'enhanced'.

While there could be a significant uplift in the annual income on offer by purchasing such an enhanced annuity this should not really be taken as an incentive to take up smoking, drinking to excess and wild partying late in life. However, on a serious note, you should make sure that you and your IFA include your health outlook in your calculations about which is the right annuity for you.