Retirement

Royal London new life and pensions business was up 18% to £989m in the first quarter of the year, with group pensions benefitting significantly from auto-enrolment.

The promise of guidance at retirement "does not go far enough" and a new form of retirement-focused advice must be created by the regulator, according to Royal London.

Malcolm McLean predicts politicians will target tax relief ahead of the general election

Did pensions just get exciting?

Partnership has launched an enhanced annuity which guarantees income for life but also gives retirees the chance to change their mind after 12 months.

All the key product launches, charging tweaks, people moves and events for advisers...

Just Retirement is "rapidly adapting" its business model to accommodate changes to pensions announced at Budget 2014, after disclosing annuity sales are "at around half of pre-Budget levels".

Life insurer Friends Life has reported a "limited immediate Budget impact" on its retirement income business but said it expects annuity sales to drop by up to 70% in the medium term.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is considering ways it can make it clearer to consumers when they are buying products on a non-advised basis online, as more web-based advice solutions are developed.

Prudential has become the latest life company to report severely hit annuity sales in the wake of radical reforms to how people can access their pension.