Over 50s who do not fully disclose details about their health or lifestyle could be missing out on an enhanced pension annuity, Saga has warned.

While Saga has found that many over 50s are honest about declaring health conditions when taking out travel and health insurance, it has found this is not the case when it comes to purchasing an annuity.

Saga has revealed that many are not aware that declaring health conditions could actually result in them receiving a higher annuity, estimating that currently 120,000 Brits are missing out on £60million worth of better pensions.

By fully disclosing details about their health and lifestyle, Saga claims that an individual with a pension pot of £30,000 could benefit from an increase of £800 per year.

Its research shows that a male smoking 10 cigarettes a day for the last 12 years could benefit from an increase of around seven per cent to their annual income if they are honest about their lifestyle.

Meanwhile, a female diagnosed with type two diabetes may benefit from an uplift of an estimated eight per cent a year.

Commenting, Andrew Goodsell, executive chairman at Saga said: “It is vitally important that people are frank about health conditions when they buy a pension annuity, as it can improve their income for the rest of their life.”  

Campaigning for better annuity rates for people approaching their retirement, Mr Goodsell added: “The fact that so many Britons who have worked hard for their pensions and are then denied the better retirement they deserve is shameful and we urge the Government, regulator and the industry to do more to right this wrong.”   

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