Mark Greenwood: Implementing information prompts in the annuity market

Following the Retirement Income Market Study in 2015, where it was identified the annuity market was not working well for consumers, a number of remedies were suggested. These included providing information prompts to help consumers in shopping around and the decision-making process. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) commissioned consumer behavioural research to test various formats and the results were published in July 2016. This was followed by a consultation (CP16/37) in November last year. Policy statement PS17/12 contains the final rules. These will require annuity providers...