How to qualify for an enhanced annuity: an insurer must judge that your health, medication, habits or sometimes where you live point to a shorter life.
Each insurer makes that judgement for itself, from the answers you give when you ask for a quote. Free guidance on your options for taking a pension comes from Pension Wise, MoneyHelper's government-backed service. If your diagnoses and pension pot need weighing together, an FCA-authorised adviser will ring, and nothing is charged for it; just complete the form on this page.
Who qualifies for an enhanced annuity?
You may qualify if your health or lifestyle suggests a shorter life than average. An annuity pays for the rest of your life, so the insurer estimates how long that is likely to be before setting your income. Aviva puts the test from the insurer's side: "If a provider thinks any of these factors could shorten your life, they may decide to offer you an enhanced annuity, which pays a higher income than the standard rate." The factors are the health conditions and lifestyle choices it asks about. For the rules firms follow, the FCA's Handbook defines it as a pension annuity that "pays a higher level of income due to a retail client’s health or lifestyle".
Impaired life annuity is another name for the same thing, and Legal & General also uses "enhanced pension annuity". Whatever the label, it is still a lifetime pension annuity, with your health and lifestyle taken into account in the price.
Qualifying also comes in degrees. MoneyHelper's wording is that you might be offered more, not that you will, and Legal & General puts it plainly: "The more serious your condition, the higher your rate could be." The size of the uplift is a separate question, covered in enhanced annuity rates.
Which health conditions and medication count?
Everyday long-term conditions are on the published lists, not only rare or terminal ones. Aviva says you are more likely to be entitled to an enhanced annuity if you have a condition such as stroke, cancer, diabetes, heart attack, kidney failure, chronic asthma, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Legal & General's list runs diabetes, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, kidney failure, smoking and obesity, followed by a caution: "Every provider will have their own list." MoneyHelper picks out diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer as its examples.
Treatment matters alongside the diagnosis. Legal & General asks for full details of any medication you take and any treatment you are having. The FCA's guidance to firms gives, among its examples of circumstances that may point to eligibility, taking medication for high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and "whether the client is taking medication for serious health conditions". A condition kept in check by tablets is therefore still part of your answers, and Aviva's advice is to tell the provider about any of the factors on its list.
Smoking, weight and drinking: do lifestyle factors count?
They can. Aviva's list includes being, or having been, a heavy smoker and having a higher BMI, and MoneyHelper mentions being overweight or smoking. Legal & General says it looks at lifestyle, such as smoking or drinking, as well as your medical history.
The FCA's examples for firms are more measurable: whether you smoke or used to; your height, weight and waist size, and whether they fall outside normal ranges; and how many units of alcohol you drink a week. They are examples of what may indicate eligibility, not thresholds. Where one insurer draws its lines, such as cigarettes a day or a BMI figure, is its own decision, since each has its own list.
Can your postcode or job lead to a higher annuity?
Possibly. MoneyHelper's list of circumstances in which you might be offered more includes having worked in certain jobs, with manual labour as its example, and living in an area where life expectancy is low. Aviva's enhanced annuity FAQ also counts where you live among the things that may affect life expectancy, next to some medical conditions and whether you smoke.
Which areas or occupations a particular insurer recognises is a detail to raise with the adviser who phones once this page's form reaches them; that conversation is free.
How do insurers decide whether you qualify?
From health and lifestyle questions asked as part of the quote; MoneyHelper explains that the medical questions let providers estimate your life expectancy. Depending on your health and the insurer, Legal & General adds, it may want a report from your doctor or an examination. The questions themselves, and what happens if an answer turns out to be wrong, are set out in how to apply for an enhanced annuity.
What you declare is what gets priced, so the detail matters as much as the diagnosis. Aviva says it is "quite common for people to under-disclose their health details", and that around 25% of its customers in 2025 did not tell it something that could have led to a higher income. Its suggestion is to come "prepared with as much information as possible, including medical letters or hospital reports if you have them available".
What the FCA's rules say about health questions
Section 19.9 of the FCA's Conduct of Business sourcebook applies to a firm that gives you a guaranteed quote for a pension annuity, and to a firm asked by another for a quote so that it can produce a market-leading comparison. Two parts bear directly on qualifying.
Under COBS 19.9.6AR: "When a firm generates a market-leading pension annuity quote it must take reasonable steps to obtain from the retail client answers to the questions that are required to determine whether the client is eligible for an enhanced annuity." It continues: "If the retail client is eligible for an enhanced annuity the firm must generate a market-leading quote for an enhanced annuity." Separately, COBS 19.9.4R(6) says the information given with a guaranteed quote must include, "if applicable, information about how a retail client’s health or lifestyle may entitle the retail client to a pension annuity that pays a higher income (an enhanced annuity)".
So when a firm within those rules produces that comparison, it should take reasonable steps to ask about your health and lifestyle. The rules set out what the firm must do, not what any insurer will offer. Comparing quotes on a like-for-like basis is covered in best annuity rates in the UK. Holding a quote already? An FCA-authorised adviser could read it beside your other pensions, without charge, if you submit the short form on this page.
Enhanced annuity eligibility: five common queries
Is an enhanced annuity the same as an impaired life annuity?
In practice, yes. MoneyHelper says the product is often called an impaired life or enhanced annuity, and Legal & General gives both names. Either way, it is a lifetime annuity whose income reflects your health or lifestyle.
Does it count if I gave up smoking years ago?
It can. Aviva's list covers having been a heavy smoker, not only being one, and the FCA's examples ask whether a client is, or was, a smoker. How long ago you stopped, and how much you smoked, is for each insurer to weigh.
Do arthritis, Parkinson's or type 1 diabetes qualify?
Aviva, Legal & General and MoneyHelper all name diabetes without specifying a type, and their lists are examples rather than complete rules. How an insurer treats arthritis, Parkinson's or any other specific diagnosis, its stage and its treatment is a point to put to the adviser on a free call-back, requested through this page's short form.
Does Aviva offer an enhanced annuity, and how do I get a quote?
Aviva says it may offer one if it thinks your health or lifestyle could shorten your life, and asks anyone phoning for a quote to mention any factors they think may entitle them to it. Its annuity is covered in Aviva pension annuity rates.
What happens if I would rather not answer the health questions?
You can decline. A firm covered by COBS 19.9 must then produce a market-leading quote from the same information it used for its own guaranteed quote and compare the two, unless a separate rule in the same section applies because it could not get your consent to produce that quote. The FCA's guidance adds that the firm may consider including a statement that you may have health or lifestyle factors that could mean a higher income.
Before you ask for quotes
A note of your diagnoses and their dates, current prescriptions, smoking and drinking history, height and weight, and any hospital letters covers the points the insurers and the FCA's examples above mention. Pension Wise remains free, free annuity advice sets out the other routes, and you can go to insurers directly; is an annuity worth it weighs the alternatives. Should you want health, pots and family weighed up together by an adviser with FCA authorisation, the enquiry form here sets up that call-back, at no charge.
Sources: MoneyHelper, annuities explained (archived copy of 13 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026); Aviva, enhanced annuity (last updated 22 January 2026) and Aviva FAQ, what's an enhanced annuity?; Legal & General, enhanced annuities explained (21 April 2026); FCA Handbook, COBS 19.9 Pension annuity comparison information.