OMO battle 'being lost'

In an open letter to the FSA and the Association of British Insurers (ABI), Rockingham Retirement managing director Steve Hunt says millions are still defaulting into unsuitable annuities because they are unaware of the options available to them. Hunt says the best remedy is for the OMO to become the default option for retirees. According to ABI figures published last month, 169,000 retirees decided to turn down the annuity offered by their pension provider in 2008, down from 170,000 in 2007. The total number of annuities purchased rose 4.4% to 452,000 last year. "The ABI has declared...