BRITISH COLUMBIA ANNUITY

Annuities in British Columbia

An annuity in British Columbia is a contract between an individual and an insurance company  where the individual provides a lump sum of money to the insurance company and the insurance company guarantees a lifetime income to the individual. This arrangement essentially creates a guaranteed income stream for the rest of that individual’s  lifetime.

Whether you are learning about annuities for the first time or you are seeking further information about whether or not they are right for you, I believe we have provided enough information on this website in order for you to decide if an annuity would be meaningful to you. As an annuity broker, I have over thirty years of experience with annuities and the insurance companies that sell them. If you would like to speak with me directly and reside in the lower BC area, you can call me anytime at 604-535-2404. If you reside outside of the lower mainland, call toll free at 1-800-667-8818.

It’s likely that you are curious about the amount of income you can obtain monthly from the amount of capital you have to put towards an annuity purchase, so we have provided a quick and easy way to provide you with this information. Below is a list of the Canadian life insurance companies that sell annuities in your area. If you scroll down past the insurance company names, you will find a list of the cities in British Columbia that we service. If you click on the city that is nearest to where you reside, you will find an annuity request form which you can simply send to us and you will receive a free annuity market survey of the annuities that are available to you along with the payouts offered by the insurance companies. More annuity information is available on the page that represents your city. If you still have questions, you can call John Beaton at 604-535-2404 in the lower B.C. mainland or 1-800-667-8818 if you reside outside the lower mainland.

The following Canadian life insurance companies sell annuities in British Columbia.

Assumption Life Beneva BMO Life Canada Life Desjardins Financial Security

Empire Life Equitable Life Industrial Alliance Financial Group RBC Life Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada Wawanesa Life Insurance Company

The following are the cities in British Columbia where I represent and sell annuities for any of the above named insurance companies. If you reside in or near any one of these cities, click on the city name to be taken to a request for a free annuity market survey that will reveal to you what current payouts are offered to you.

Abbotsford Armstrong Burnaby Campbell River Castlegar Chilliwack Colwood Coquitlam Courtenay Cranbrook Dawson Creek Delta Duncan Enderby Fort St. John Grand Forks Greenwood

Kamloops Kelowna Kimberley Langford Langley Maple Ridge Merritt Mission Nanaimo Nelson New Westminster North Vancouver Parksville Penticton Port Coquitlam Port Moody Prince George

Richmond Surrey Vancouver Vernon Victoria West Kelowna White Rock

Request A British Columbia Annuity Quote

If your province of residence is British Columbia, Beaton Annuity Services  will provide you with a personalized annuity market survey showing the current best payouts of all the Canadian life insurance companies that do business in British Columbia.

BC Annuity Form

Please note that the term guarantee period refers to the period of time that the insurance company must make payments to you, whether you are alive or dead. For a life pay annuity the most common guarantee periods are 5 years for registered funds and 7 years for non-registered funds. For a term certain annuity, guarantee period outlines the total length of time that payments are to be made to you.

There are four parties to a life pay annuity contract.

• The issuer is the life insurance company that provides the annuity contract and issues the annuity.
• The owner is generally the person who purchases the annuity from the insurance company, but the funds to purchase the annuity might come from a third party, such as a parent, grand-parent, etc.
• The annuitant or annuitants are the people whose lives are used to determine the amount of the benefit payments to be made. The annuitant or annuitants are normally, but not exclusively, the owner.
• The beneficiary is the person who will receive any death benefit available should the annuitant pass away before all guaranteed payments have been made to the annuitant(s).

How Do Canadian Insurance Companies Calculate Their Annuity Payouts?

There are several considerations used by annuity underwriters to determine how much they will pay to the person who is purchasing an annuity from their particular insurance company.

1. The lump sum amount that the purchaser provides for the purchase. There are lower limits and upper limits set by each insurance company. The lower limit is usually in the range of $10,000 to $15,000. [We will only deal with clients with a minimum of $50,000] The upper limit can be as much as unlimited millions of dollars but most major Canadian insurance companies have an upper limit of $2,000,000 and some $1,000,000. The average query that we receive is usually in the range of $100,000 to $500,000.
2. The age and gender of the person[s] who wants an income from a life pay annuity. Federal mortality tables outline the average life expectancy of males and females in Canada. These tables are periodically updated to reflect the health of this nation. The current prediction is that females live longer than males therefore if a male and a female of the same age purchase a life pay annuity, the female can expect to receive smaller payments because of her longer life expectancy.
3. The specific mortality credits accumulated by the insurance company that is quoting a payout rate. Mortality credits are accumulated by the fact that some annuitants do not live as long as mortality tables predict so the insurance company does not have to pay out as much for that person. Of course, some annuitants live longer so the insurance company must continue to pay for as long as that person is alive. If the insurance company ends up with an excess amount of mortality credits, they are used as part of the calculation for new purchases.
4. The health of the person who is going to received life time payments from a life pay annuity. If there is a health issue that might contribute to a shortened life span, the insurance company could do what they call an age enhancement to in effect make that person older for calculation purposes. This would result in an impaired life annuity with an increased level of payment.

Where Can I Buy An Annuity in British Columbia?

Canadian insurance companies are the only sources from which Canadians can purchase life pay annuities. However, annuities cannot be purchased directly from the insurance companies. Annuities can only be purchased through a licensed life insurance agent or an insurance broker.

It’s important to know if you are dealing with an agent of an insurance company or an insurance broker who deals with multiple insurance companies. It’s unlikely that an insurance agent can offer advice on any insurance company’s products other than the company he/she is working for. He/she is essentially a captive agent who is only selling products for his/her employer. An insurance broker on the other hand, is able to represent many insurance companies and is therefore able to compare annuity payouts to find the best annuity for you.

For more than 35 years John Beaton has been a licensed insurance/annuity broker in British Columbia. He routinely searches for and compares the best current annuity payouts available in British Columbia.