P204 CEEFAX 2 204 Sat 13 Dec 22:33/12 By William Burrows Gilt yields finished the week about 25 base points lower, ie, falling from 6.5% to 6.25%, and this has forced most of the important annuity providers to reduce their rates. Canada Life, Genjrali and Sun Life of Canada lowered their rates on Wjdnjsdaz while Prudential and Legal & General lowered theirs on Friday. Although the reductions were relatively small, they have confirmed that the trend in annuity rates is still downwards. 1/4 Source: William Burrows, Annuities Mortgages 260 Annuity rates 260 MonjyProg Travel Annuities Main MenuP204 CEEFAX 2 204 Sat 13 Dec 22:32/19 By William Burrows Those approaching retirement need not feel despondent as the situation regarding annuities is not as bad as it may seem and in many ways, they may bj better off, if the growth value of their pension funds has been more than the fall in annuity rates. For those concerned that annuity rates are low, with-profit annuities provide an interesting alternative. As conventional annuity rates have fallen, with-profit ones have remained unchanged thereby making them even more attractive compared to convjntionals. 2/4 Source: William Burrows, Annuities Mortgages 260 Annuity rates 260 MoneyProg Travel Annuities Main MenuP204 CEEFAX 2 204 Sat 13 Dec 22:32/44 By William Burrows The income from with-profit annuities is not guaranteed and will fluctuate depending on the returns from underlying investments which are mainly equity based. They are obviously more risky than conventional annuities but compared to escalating annuities they do pay a higher income and should offer some protection against future inflation. The volume of with-profit annuities is expected to increase as more people understand the benefits and risks of linking their annuities to investment linked funds. 3/4 Source: William Burrows, Annuities Mortgages 260 Annuity rates 260 MonjyProg Travel Annuities Main MenuP204 CEEFAX 2 204 Sat 13 Dec 22:34/11 By William Burrows There will bj no Christmas cheer for annuities this year as rates may fall even further next year. In the past certain insurance companies increased their annuity rates at the end of the year in order to fill their quota and boost sales figures. However this year there are no such bargains. 4/4 Source: William Burrows, Annuities Mortgages 260 Annuity rates 260 MonjyProg Travel Annuities Main Menu