L&G individual annuity sales drop 40% after Budget reforms

Its first quarter results said this included a circa £15m impact from cancellations during the extended cooling off period offered after the Budget changes were announced. The firm has previously predicted the annuity market will shrink by as much as £9bn due to George Osborne’s reforms which make it possible for savers to access their whole pension fund age 55. However, L&G said its retirement arm’s new business premiums quadrupled to £3.3bn in Q1, up from £0.8bn in 2013. It said the growth was mainly down to securing the largest ever UK bulk annuity contract with the ICI Pension Fu...