Innovation required: How the annuity market is adapting to survive

To paraphrase Mark Twain ‘reports of the death of annuities are greatly exaggerated' but it is evident traditional providers will have to adapt to survive. Falling sales, redundancies and quickfire fixed-term 12-month annuity launches are just some of the more immediate reactions the market has seen since 19 March. But, longer term, how will the market evolve to take advantage of the freedoms brought about by the Chancellor? Speakers at an Axa Life Invest roundtable last week were adamant that a combination of the guaranteed income mixed with the flexibility and returns of staying ...