Can you give me some idea of annuity rates?

Annuity rates vary a great deal, and can change rapidly in line with economic conditions. As people have started to live longer annuity rates have fallen sharply. If you want a survivor's pension the rate will depend not just on your age, but your partner's too. Newspapers often have tables that give up-to-date annuity rates in their personal finance section.

Having given all those health warnings these figures (taken from the Regulator's Guide) give a rough idea of how much pension you might get as a male non-smoker aged 65 for a £30,000 pensions pot. (These figures date from 2011 and you are likely to find that current figures are very much lower.)

• for a level annuity (the same each year) with no guarantee period and no survivor's benefits you might get a pension of £150 a month.
• for a pension that goes up in line with inflation each year, a 5 year guarantee period and a survivor’s pension at 50% you might get a pension of about £80 a month.

This should give you a sense of how much rates can vary depending on how you structure your annuity. They also show once again that to get even a very modest pension on top of your state pension you need a big pensions pot.

You can use the comparative tables on the Money Advice Service website to look at how much you might get from your pension pot.