Under pressure: Will platforms struggle to cope with pension freedom?

Standard Life is working on the basis that it will see a fivefold increase in demand for drawdown when pension freedoms kick in from April. The insurer predicts about 30% of retirees will opt for drawdown, compared to just 7% today. Many of these will fall below the traditional £100,000 viability limit and could be non-advised, which bring its own set of separate challenges. A fivefold increase in demand for drawdown, advised and non-advised, will no doubt be a challenge for advisers and platforms alike. Standard Life head of adviser platform propositions David Tiller says platform...