Partnership, a provider of ill-health retirement and care financial solutions, has introduced a new annuity exclusively for smokers, which will offer people aged 50 and over who have smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day for the past 10 years, a guaranteed retirement income.
Partnership has reported that the new annuity will provide income much higher than people would receive from a standard annuity. It is also the most competitive annuity specifically designed for smokers available at the moment, offering the highest rate to almost every eligible individual. The product is only available through independent financial advisers, who can obtain real time quotes from The Exchanges Exweb quotation comparison service.
Ian Owen, chairman of Partnership, said: It’s an inescapable fact that the vast majority of smokers won’t live as long as people who don’t smoke. Although as a population we are experiencing increased longevity, the rate of improvement for smokers is a lot lower than for non-smokers. So smokers who take a standard annuity are being hit with a double whammy – which doesn’t seem very fair to us.