There's more to an annuity than just a rate

Although annuity rates are coming down, advisers can find better options for their customers by looking beyond conventional annuities to products such as flexible unit-linked annuities and with-profits annuities

The story of annuity rates is highly publicised. Falling rates have grabbed the headlines over the past few years but this belies some hard facts that rarely get an airing. What is most frustrating is that commentators in the market are only too keen to point out the obvious about the low level of rates but they never seem to offer any alternative solutions by way of contrast - when in fact there are some really good ones out there. The unique added benefit of annuities is that they guarantee an income for life. If this were a sales pitch I would have to repeat that twice - annuities guara...