# Current Annuity Rates

> Current annuity rates are a starting point, not your income. The five choices and the health questions that move a quote most.

## Key facts

- Almost every annuity choice is fixed permanently at purchase, which makes this unlike most retail financial decisions.
- Health and lifestyle disclosure can increase the income offered, and a provider cannot offer an enhancement it has not asked about.
- Index linking reduces the starting income substantially, and whether it pays depends on how long you live and on inflation.
- Pension income above the Personal Allowance is subject to Income Tax, and a large withdrawal from a private pension can mean paying at a higher rate.
- Income Tax applies to any part of a lump sum above your lump sum allowance or your lump sum and death benefit allowance.

## Key pages

- [Current annuity rates, and what actually sets your income](https://currentannuityrates.co.uk/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [What moves annuity rates, and what moves your quote](https://currentannuityrates.co.uk/what-moves-annuity-rates/): Market rates follow gilt yields. Your own quote is moved far more by age, health and the options you pick. The difference matters when shopping.
- [Joint life, escalation and guarantees: what each costs](https://currentannuityrates.co.uk/annuity-options-explained/): Every annuity option lowers the starting income to buy something else. What each protects against, and the trade-off to weigh.
- [What to do before buying an annuity](https://currentannuityrates.co.uk/before-you-buy-an-annuity/): Free guidance, a full health questionnaire, the open market option and the tax position. The four steps that change the outcome most.
- [What moves a UK annuity quote, and which way, 2026](https://currentannuityrates.co.uk/#data): original data table, updated 2026-08-15.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://currentannuityrates.co.uk/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- What moves a UK annuity quote, and which way, 2026. Methodology: This table describes the structure of annuity pricing and the trade-offs in the options commonly offered. It quotes NO annuity rate and no standard reduction percentage, because rates are set by providers daily against gilt yields and individual factors and no public source publishes a market rate; a figure here would mislead by looking authoritative. Tax statements are drawn from gov.uk guidance on tax when you get a pension, read on 15 August 2026 and cited below: pension income above the Personal Allowance is subject to Income Tax, a large withdrawal from a private pension can mean paying at a higher rate, and Income Tax applies to any part of a lump sum above your lump sum allowance or your lump sum and death benefit allowance. Where a figure would be needed to answer a question, this page directs you to guidance and to regulated advice rather than supplying one.
- Last updated: 2026-08-15. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: gov.uk, Plan your retirement income: https://www.gov.uk/plan-retirement-income
- Source: gov.uk, Get financial advice on your retirement income: https://www.gov.uk/plan-retirement-income/get-financial-advice
- Source: gov.uk, Tax when you get a pension: https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-pension
- Source: Bank of England, official Bank Rate history: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/Bank-Rate.asp
- Source: FCA, the Financial Services Register: https://register.fca.org.uk/s/
- Source: Financial Ombudsman Service: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/
- Source: FCA, protect yourself from scams: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/protect-yourself-scams

## Citation

Cite as: "What moves a UK annuity quote, and which way, 2026", Current Annuity Rates, https://currentannuityrates.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15).

## About

- Current Annuity Rates is an introducer site. We are NOT authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and we are not a provider, an adviser or a broker. We do not advise, arrange or recommend any annuity, product or firm: we introduce you to regulated firms by passing your details to them, and they deal with you directly. We may be paid a commission for that introduction by the firm we introduce you to, and it never changes what you are quoted. Nothing on this site is financial, pension or tax advice. NO ANNUITY RATE IS PUBLISHED HERE, because rates are set by providers daily against gilt yields and against your own circumstances, and every percentage in the calculator is an input for you to replace with figures a provider gives you. Buying an annuity is normally irreversible and the choices are fixed at purchase, so use the free government-backed guidance and, where the sums matter, regulated advice before you commit; gov.uk sets out how to find both. Check any firm on the FCA's Financial Services Register.
- Operated by currentannuityrates.co.uk. Contact: enquiries@currentannuityrates.co.uk