Income

DYMOTT'S DIGEST

Aviva has reported a profit after tax of £776m for the first half of this year, turning around a £624m loss for the half year 2012 - but said UK life operating profit fell.

Just Retirement's total annual annuity sales reached £1.34bn in 2012/2013, 12.5% up year on year.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will push ahead with its annuity market probe, and investigate if providers' profit margins are ‘high', despite industry murmurings self-regulation goes far enough.

Natanje Holt looks at the twin issues of falling annuity values and the recent history of GAD income maximums in drawdown and asks the question: Are we simply going ‘back to the future' rather than looking at a more relevant way of calculating income...

Fewer than one in four major employers say their scheme has a specific ‘decumulation strategy' in place to help retirees get the best annuity, research finds.

Mike Morrison looks at how people make retirement income decisions and concludes they are not always rational.

Jelf Employee Benefits is extending its annuity offering with the launch of its standalone broking service.

ANNUITIES

Lloyds Banking Group is back in the black after announcing a profit before tax of £2.1bn for the six months to the end of June - and said it is on course to target IFA clients orphaned by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).