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Sales of escalating annuities surge
Sales of escalating Guaranteed Income for Life annuities that have some inflation protection, accounted for a fifth of all sales in 2024/25 and have increased by 17% year-on-year.
Annuity sales to plummet, another leading firm says
Friends Life announced today it expects between a 50% and 70% reduction in annuity sales.
This excludes sales of annuities from vesting pensions with guaranteed annuity options, which are expected to reduce by about 20%.
The announcement comes days after Legal and General said £15m of its annuity sales were cancelled after the Budget reforms and it also predicted a 50% contraction in the individual annuity market overall.
Friends Life said in a Stock Exchange statement this morning it anticipated "significant impacts from Budget in the medium-term".
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However, it also reported total year-on-year Q1 sales grew 42 per cent, from £142m in 2013 to £201m this year.
Andy Briggs, group chief executive, said: "The recent Budget announcement will give customers more flexibility around their retirement savings.
"Whilst some of these changes will have longer-term implications for our business and the industry as a whole, they will also create new opportunities."
The firm stated it was "refocusing retirement income on existing mass affluent customers from both heritage and corporate benefits" and was developing new propositions.
Mr Briggs said: "As the number two player in the corporate benefits market and with one in nine maturing pensions, we remain well positioned to develop and provide innovative new solutions to meet customers' retirement needs.
"Neither the Budget nor the recent regulatory and market developments will impact on our short term ability to generate cash, but the Budget will impact on the delivery of our value of new business target this year."