UK variable annuity sales rose to £1.09bn in 2011, an increase of 15% over 2010, according to research by Towers Watson. Quarterly sales exceeded £300m in the last quarter of 2011 for the first time in over two and a half years. Policy numbers also increased in comparison to...
The Association of British Insurers is launching today its Code of Conduct governing the sale of pension annuities by its members. The retirement income market is worth around £13bn a year and affects hundreds of thousands of retiring investors every year.
The market does not currently...
High pension charges and the wrong choice of annuity could cut a saver’s potential pension income by a quarter (24%).
A report for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) revealed that savers who did not get the best deal from these two factors...
UK enhanced annuity sales rose to £3.02bn in 2011, an increase of 22% over 2010, according to research by Towers Watson. Second half sales in 2011 were £1.59bn.
And the company says that consumer interest in taking out enhanced annuities - which provide bigger pensions for those with...
High pension charges and the wrong choice of annuity could cut a saver’s potential pension income by a quarter (24%).
A report for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) revealed that savers who did not get the best deal from these two...
The Bank of England’s extra £50bn of quantitative easing (QE) announced today will hit pensioners hard.
Indeed the yields available from UK gilts have plummeted to levels not seen since the late 1800s!
Joanne Segars, chief executive, National Association of Pension Funds, warns:
“...
Around half a million people retiring each year are being short-changed by up to £1bn from their total future pension income, because overwhelming obstacles stop them getting the best deal.
This is the key finding of a joint report Treating DC scheme members fairly in retirement? ...
Is open market option reform coming too late to save annuities? wonders Patrick Connolly,
AWD Chase de Vere
Annuity product providers are doing a grand job in delaying the implementation of a universal open market option (OMO) facility for those looking to take pension benefits. Despite continued pressure from the financial press and lobbying from those in the financial advice industry, including the...
Most retirees simply do not understand the need to shop around for the best annuity, says editor Stephanie Hawthorne.
Could annuity misselling be the next financial scandal? Already, one fifth of all trust based defined contribution (DC) members are over 50. Additionally, with the arrival of auto-enrolment, millions will be faced with the prospect of buying an annuity for the first time.
Customers have just one...
The Bank of England has announced that it will add a further £75m to its quantitative easing (QE) programme to help stimulate the economy. This will hit pension funds and people nearing retirement particularly hard.
Mark Gull, partner at Pension Corporation, comments: "It appears...
Most employees do not have a clue how to maximize their pension income, according to research from Partnership, a specialist provider of financial solutions for people with health/lifestyle conditions.
When prompted during interviews, pensions professionals cited reasons why members do not...
Often the difference between the best annuity rate and worse is a huge 25%. Yet, around a third of the 650,000 people who retire every year fail to shop around. With this a new initiative from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) introducing a compulsory code of practice for...
Securing Lifelong Retirement Income: Global Annuity Markets and Policy edited by Olivia S. Mitchell and others, £45, ISBN 978 0 19 959484 9 (256 pages) www.oup.com
As people live longer, annuities are increasingly coming under the spotlight. This authoritative work surveys annuity markets around the world, including those in Sweden, India, Canada, United States, Australia, Chile, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Interestingly, it points out...
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, has confirmed in a written ministerial statement that the recent European ruling banning insurers from using gender when calculating policies or pensions will only apply to products bought after 21 December 2012.
Commenting on the news, Otto...
Nest has selected five annuity providers for its retirement panel. Members wil be free to buy annuities from the panel or shop around on the open market.
The panellists are:
Canada Life, providing both conventional and enhanced retirement income products
Just Retirement, providing...
Annuity rates continued their downward trend in June, with table topper Aviva reducing its rate by £30 compared to May to £6,160 a year according to Alexander Forbes Annuity Bureau. Canada Life also reduced its rate, falling from second to third place with a rate reduction of £...
Mercer has added another new component to its workplace savings solution by offering enhanced annuity terms to scheme members through a partnership with The Open Market Annuity Service.
Using the very latest technology, members will be able to submit medical information online, by phone,...
Employers are preparing to provide members of final salary pension schemes with ways to access more of their pensions earlier in retirement, according to Towers Watson. The firm says that new options for members of defined benefit (DB) schemes will be a consequence of less stringent rules on how...
The scrapping of the age 75 annuitisation rule could inadvertently encourage people to stay in drawdown for longer than is suitable and mean they risk missing out on the benefits of mortality cross-subsidy, warns MGM Advantage, specialists in retirement income and Intelligent Pensions, the...
Up to 2.1 million people aged between 55 and 75 today will be able to meet the minimum income requirement (MIR), of £20,000 a year either now or at retirement, according to a new report from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI). People with pensions above £20,000 do not have to...
