When it comes to finding the best annuity rates it is a well documented fact that you may get better annuity rates if you declare your health fully. Enhanced annuity rates are available for lifestyle and medical conditions you may not have known qualify.
Conditions that people seem to know about are things like smoking and taking prescribed medication for things like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but did you know that you may get enhanced annuity rates if you drink alcohol excessively, that is you drink more than the advised limits per week.
It is also quite common to get higher rates if you combine lifestyle or medical conditions, for example if you smoke and your height and weight is above the BMI levels advised for your age then the combination of these could give you considerably more income than one of these on their own.
There are probably some 1500 or more lifestyle and medical conditions that qualify on their own or in combination that could give your income in retirement a significant boost by anything up to 60% more. So it is always worth seeking advice from an independent financial adviser to declare your health fully, at the end of the day what have you got to lose.
An independent financial adviser is the only person that can get you the best enhanced annuity rates as many of the annuity providers do not sell direct to the general public. The whole process is fairly straight forward and just involves completing a couple of forms, the rewards though could be considerable.
