A standard conventional annuity guarantees to pay you a fixed amount of income every year, for the rest of your life. This can be useful if you want to make sure your basis expenses are always covered, and that you never run out of money. If you are a smoker, suffer from any kind of health issue, or you are taking at least two forms of medication, you may qualify for an enhanced annuity. This means the insurance company will offer you a higher level of income. You can also opt to link your income to inflation, so when inflation increase, so does your income, although this will mean starting on a lower income than for a standard annuity.

A Lifetime Annuity May Be Suitable For You If

• You want a guaranteed income for the rest of your life
• You don’t want to take any investment risk
• You are not concerned about the effect of inflation eroding you income
• You take any medication, are a smoker, or have medical conditions
• You want to protect your fund, or leave an income to a loved one

Things to consider

Unless you include death benefits in your plan, your income will stop when you die.
There are different types of death benefit:

• Joint life - Leave a proportion of your income to your loved one (up to 100%).
• Guarantee period - Your income will be paid for a certain period (up to 30 years) even if you die within that period.
• Value protection - If you die before receiving the purchase value back, the remainder is paid to your estate. Including death benefits usually has the effect of lowering the amount of income you receive.