IFAs urged to keep on top of retirement market

Quinton said that in 2006, lifetime annuity sales were £9.6bn, up a healthy 21.5pc on 2005, and income drawdown sales were £2.6bn, up 73pc on the previous year. “In 2004, a paper on the future of annuities by the Association of British Insurers and Watson Wyatt predicted that the annuity market would be worth over £18bn annually by 2012 - if the current growth is sustained, we will well exceed these early predictions.” He insisted: “This is too big an area for IFAs and product providers to ignore and retirement income options are increasing fast. "However, still around 65pc of ret...