Royal London

‘I’m hanging my hat on simplified advice’: The future of retirement advice post-2015

A workable and affordable simplified advice framework must urgently be established to ensure ‘ordinary savers' properly benefit from next year's pension freedoms, delegates heard.

Life, pensions and investment company Royal London is seeking to provide its non-advised retirees with access to independent advice "at low cost" in the wake of the Budget pension freedoms.

Royal London has reported a 45% slump in pre-tax profit in H1, pointing to regulatory charges as a key contributor, while its wrap platform Ascentric saw new business slide 20%.

Royal London has launched an annuity shopping around service to assist customers looking to buy a guaranteed income for life at the best rates.

Jon Taylor, head of the former Co-op life insurance business, is to replace Hugo Thorman as managing director of platform Ascentric.

Royal London has said it will continue to pay adviser commission on its workplace pension schemes - currently branded Scottish Life - until 2016.

The Co-operative Bank has received a £100m cash injection from its former parent as part of attempts to fill a £1.5bn black hole.

In this week's Retirement Planner news round-up we highlight five key stories you might have missed over the past seven days.

Royal London new life and pensions business was up 18% to £989m in the first quarter of the year, with group pensions benefitting significantly from auto-enrolment.