Do you have high blood pressure? Perhaps diabetes or raised cholesterol?
Maybe you’re a little overweight?
If your Financial Planner is asking you these seemingly personal questions as you approach retirement, there is probably a good reason for it.
Common medical and lifestyle conditions can boost your income in retirement – as long as your chosen insurer knows about them.
In fact, 65% of people are estimated to be eligible for an enhanced annuity when they retire.
An enhanced annuity offers a higher income than a standard annuity and is available to people with health problems as well as those taking medication.
Retirement specialist Partnership has published data showing the most common conditions people declare when they buy an annuity, as well as the the impact on their retirement income.
The most common condition that people declare when taking out an enhanced annuity is high blood pressure.
This is followed by obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol.
All of these conditions can be relatively minor and treated with medication. They do however mean that people can receive almost £21,000 more income assuming a 20-year retirement.
Assuming a £100,000 pension pot and single-life level term annuity, high blood pressure can take your annuity income from £5,400 to £5,709 a year, an increase of £6,185 over the term of a 20 year annuity.
Obesity can improve annuity income by £5,342 over 20 years, diabetes by £12,756 and smoking by a whopping £20,954.
It pays to declare anything to your Financial Planner which might have an impact on your level of retirement income.
Partnership found that over half (64%) of 40 to 70 year olds said they would be more than happy to disclose a wide range of personal, financial and lifestyle data if it helped them gain a better understanding of how long their retirement might be.
Of those who were reluctant to disclose this information, 17% said they would not be keen on providing personal medical history, 16% would not share their salary and 15% did not feel that they wanted to divulge their hobbies and social relationships.
Mental health (15%) and family medical history (14%) were also topics people were less keen on discussing.
Anything you tell your Financial Planner is strictly confidential. It will however help them determine the most suitable retirement income strategy based on your personal circumstances, goals and objectives.
The next time your Financial Planner asks you a personal question when they are helping you plan for retirement, you will know it is being asked with an important purpose in mind.
