Snoring can boost your pension by £570 a year

by Ed Bowsher on 04 October 2012  |  3 comments
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If you're fed up listening to your partner snore at night, we have good news! Snoring can boost your partner's pension by £570 a year through an enhanced annuity.

I’ve written before about how people with health problems and certain lifestyles can get a bigger pension.

So, for example, if you drink more than 50 units of alcohol a week, you can boost your annuity by 19% - as long as you disclose this condition when you buy the annuity.

Other factors that can enhance annuities include smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.

But today I discovered that some heavy snorers can also get an enhanced annuity!

Heavy snoring is often a sign that someone suffers from Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). An OSA sufferer doesn’t just snore a lot, he also stops breathing during sleep. These pauses are called apneas and typically last for around 30 seconds.

Sadly OSA can lead to serious health problems over time – such as diabetes, high blood pressure, weight gain and stroke.

So OSA increases the chance that you’ll die earlier than a completely healthy person of the same age. As a result, annuity providers are willing to pay a bigger annuity to someone who suffers from OSA.

Indeed MGM Advantage says that an average man can boost his annuity by £571.44 each year if he suffers from OSA.

So if you’re a snorer and you’re going to buy an annuity soon, make sure you disclose your condition to your provider. It could make a significant difference to your pension income. Once you’ve bought the annuity, it’ll be too late; you’re stuck with your annuity for life, so make sure you disclose all the relevant information when you buy.

More on annuities:

Smoking could boost your annuity by 37%

Annuity rates cut 23 times since July!

Annuity meltdown will eventually end