Annuities

The sale of annuities has almost trebled over the past ten years, but consumers are still in the dark over exactly what their money is buying, research suggests.

Quotes provider Webline has launched an annuities comparison service offering numbers from Norwich Union, Prudential, Friends Provident and Standard Life.

Tax-free cash payouts will be heavily dependent on annuity rates after A-Day, while the £1.5m pension pot cap will not be the effective limit Government has made it out to be, warns pension expert Steve Bee.

GE Life has lengthened the guarantee period of its annuity quote and is calling on rival providers to follow suit, as implementation of the Distance Marketing Directive could affect the annuity rate offered.

Webline plans to launch quotations for annuities, traded endowment policies and general insurance such as ASU and household by early January next year.

The UK could be moving closer towards unisex annuity, motor and life assurance rates despite the agreement to give a block exemption to new EU law.

Pensioners are missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds in improved annuities because of ignorance and inertia, says a new report from Just Retirement.

Principle of choice should now be extended in other aspects of pension reform, suggests the Annuity Bureau, as it supports government plans to scrap enforcement of annuities inflation indexing.

Six of the UK's most important financial services institutions - including the Association of IFAs - have this morning published their own "Budget" report aimed at encouraging people into long and short-term savings.

Uncertainty over the financial strength of companies is turning more customers towards guaranteed annuities, says the Annuity Bureau, quoting figures from the Association of British Insurers.