What to consider when selecting retirement annuity

Our investment industry boasts an impressive array of retirement annuity (RA) options, although selecting an appropriate RA from the wide range of options can appear daunting.

- Erin White

With the end of the tax year around the corner, now is a good time to consider setting up an RA if you don't already have one.

When choosing, here's what to consider:

Investment platform

Choosing an investment platform is one of the first decisions you will need to make. Whereas in the past investors only had access to traditional, insurance-based RAs, we now have access to a range of RAs housed on reputable LISP platforms.

Investors can now choose from a wide variety of unit trust RAs that offer competitive investment fees, full investment and performance transparency, together with robust and regular reporting.

Unlike an insurance RA, unit trust RAs allow investors full premium flexibility with no fees or penalties for stopping contributions. As such, if you want to invest in a unit trust RA, do your research into a number of reputable LISP platforms and select one that suits your needs.

The nature of your earnings