Annuities

After months of historically poor annuity rates, six providers have increased their offers, according to the Hargreaves Lansdown Annuity Index.

The Equitable Life (Payments) Bill passed its second and third readings in the House of Lords yesterday, but not without renewed calls for pre-1992 annuitants to be included in compensation payouts.

Aegon will guarantee to increase the income base of customers invested in its unit-linked variable annuity product every year, regardless of the underlying investment performance, as the insurer makes a raft of changes to its Secure Lifetime Income (ASLI)...

Mike Morrison discusses the pros and cons of annuitisation

Over half of Britons do not know how to access previous private pension schemes and 60% do not know they can combine pension pots at retirement, Aviva says.

Just Retirement's new business in the three months from April-June 2010 is up 14.9% on the same period last year at £245.5m.

Age UK is calling for more tailored products and services for the elderly, as they are much harder hit by the cost of inflation than the rest of the population.

Thousands of Equitable Life victims who annuitised before 1992 will receive no compensation despite a proposed amendment to include them in the government's repayments package.

The level of compensation due to 10,000 Equitable Life customers who bought with-profits annuities before 1992 would be "impossible to calculate", Tory MP Jonathon Evans says.

The government will publish a formal response to its consultations on the Finance Bill 2011, including details on new pension annuitisation rules, on 9 December.