FCA: More than twice as many retirement pots moved into drawdown than annuities

Two-thirds of drawdown customers seek advice

Hannah Godfrey
clock • 2 min read

The number of annuities purchased fell by more than a fifth while the drawdown market grew 4% in the six months to March, latest data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shown.

The FCA's latest data bulletin out on Friday showed the number of annuities purchased fell 21% in the six months between October 2016 and March 2017, while the drawdown market continued to grow. This means more than twice as many retirement pots are currently moving into drawdown than annuities, with 83,687 drawdown polices purchased in the period vs 33,561 annuities. The data findings fit in with the overall trend since the pension freedoms, which has seen the number of annuities dwindling with drawdown proving an increasingly popular option. Hargreaves Lansdown head of policy Tom...

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