Three things we learned from the FCA's retirement data

A big summer splash?

Tom Ellis
clock • 2 min read

From a lack of shopping around to people accessing their savings in one go, we pick out three lessons to take from the latest set of retirement income data published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Still no shopping around The proportion of people who took out annuities with an adviser dropped from two-fifths (42%) in 2015 Q4 to one-third (33%) in 2016 Q3, according to the FCA's retirement income data. What's more, shopping around remained worryingly low, with about 60% of annuities being purchased in-house rather than on the open market. "I'm very disappointed to see that people are still not shopping around to get the best deal - either for an annuity or drawdown," said Retirement Advantage pensions technical director Andrew Tully. "The message is clearly not getting through...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Regulation

Abuse victims must not be 'blocked' from redress, group urges

Abuse victims must not be 'blocked' from redress, group urges

In response to FCA and FOS consultation paper

Jen Frost
clock 12 May 2026 • 3 min read
FCA receives 210 whistleblower complaints over Consumer Duty in Q1

FCA receives 210 whistleblower complaints over Consumer Duty in Q1

Closed 265 whistleblowing cases between January and March

Michael Nelson
clock 11 May 2026 • 2 min read
Ex-investment adviser sentenced to additional prison time

Ex-investment adviser sentenced to additional prison time

Richard Faithfull failed to pay back £529,961

Sophia Panayi
clock 11 May 2026 • 2 min read