Pension freedom

Aegon has initiated a review of its annuity business in the UK.

Aegon is preparing to sell off parts of its UK-based operations, Sky News reports.

Zurich is planning to launch a drawdown product that allows clients to convert assets into an income for life at a chosen point in retirement.

The Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) has created an industry standard for retirement advisers.

Likening pensions to bank accounts is the "most irresponsible" thing anyone can say in relation to pensions freedom, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) director general told MPs.

Savers have withdrawn £2.5bn from their pensions - mostly in cash lump sums - since the government's wide-ranging retirement reforms in April, latest figures show.

Adviser network Personal Touch Financial Services is requiring advisers who want to give retirement advice post pensions freedom to attain a new retirement-specific top-up exam.

Almost all advisers have received enquiries for retirement advice as a result of the government's pension freedom reforms, according to latest research by the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA).

Investment giant BlackRock has acquired US robo-advice business FutureAdvisor, through which it plans to reach out to the "mass affluent".

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