Annuity switching call shows Webb's 'breathtaking ignorance'

In one fell swoop, Steve Webb has displayed the breathtaking extent of his ignorance surrounding annuities. The problem with his proposals is simple enough: just about everything he wants to see improved already exists. Webb's 'shopping around' facility, where investors can buy an annuity today but benefit from improving annuity rates further down the line, already exists in the form of fixed-term annuities. Is the minister even aware that these exist? Another suggestion is that people who suffer ill health should be given better deals. Guess what? People can already get better dea...