Alan Higham on the dangers of buying an annuity online

clock

There is a wide market for annuity rates with many providers. Not all of them offer competitive rates all the time though.

At times there can be only two or three who are competitive. So the first thing to mention when looking at buying an annuity is choose your moment carefully. You don't have to buy an annuity to take income from your pension. You can just draw from it and wait a while before buying an annuity. But if you have looked at all your options and have decided that buying an annuity now is the right thing to do, then here is how to find the best rate. Find a specialist annuity broker who can get you rates from the whole of the market. If the broker doesn't make it very clear up front that t...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Income

Annuity rates reach 18-year high of 7.75% in July

Annuity rates reach 18-year high of 7.75% in July

Up from 7.66% in April

Sophia Panayi
clock 30 July 2026 • 2 min read
Enhanced annuities: Turning health realities into better retirement outcomes

Enhanced annuities: Turning health realities into better retirement outcomes

'Retirement planning is not about choosing one solution over another but finding the right balance between them'

Mike Batty
clock 20 July 2026 • 3 min read
Robust fact‑finding: Annuities are back but file quality must keep pace

Robust fact‑finding: Annuities are back but file quality must keep pace

'Good quality annuity files tend to have one thing in common: robust fact‑finding'

Shirley Owen
clock 16 July 2026 • 4 min read