One helluva change: the annuity revolution

This month heralds the introduction of the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI’s) new code of conduct on retirement choices, and it couldn’t be timelier. Annuities have found themselves under the spotlight following the Financial Services Authority’s recent confirmation of a thematic review into whether retirees are missing out by failing to shop around. The annuities market as a whole has come in for its fair share of bad press in more recent years, due to record low rates. These low annuity rates are, of course, an inevitable consequence of longer life expectancy and generally low...