Wednesday, 30 April 2014 09:24
Annuity sales at Standard Life fall by 50% since Budget
Standard Life's annuity sales dropped by 50% following George Osborne's bombshell announcement on the future of pensions in the Budget.
The company has today reported the large fall as part of its first quarter results.
In a statement, the Scottish-based business said: "Changes to annuity regulations in the UK resulted in a reduction in our UK annuity sales of around 50% following the Budget announcement.
"While it will be some time before long-term trends become clear, the negative profit impact of the changes will reflect the relatively small size of our annuity business."
The exact figures were not disclosed in the report.
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The firm's assets under administration were up 1.5% to £247.8bn driven by net inflows of £2.4bn and its fee revenue was up 12% to £374m.
In the UK business fee retail and corporate net flows increased by 75% to £0.7bn with the platform continuing to attract assets.
Standard Life also reported a 16% increase in regular premiums in the corporate pension business and adviser firms using its platform went up 8% to 1,256 with wrap customers up 26% to 142,000 over the last twelve months.
Total platform AUA increased by 25% to £20.3bn with wrap platform assets £17.5bn, up 28% on Q1 2013.
Paul Matthews, chief executive, UK and Europe at Standard Life, said there had been "unprecedented changes" to the industry in this period.
He said: "The changes made to allow customers to access their money instead of having to purchase an annuity will provide customers with more flexibility, which is a good outcome.
"While we will see less annuity business going forward our market-leading drawdown proposition offers customers more choice in how they access their income through their retirement. We have a track record of responding well to change and we are well placed to continue to move our business forward."
The company has today reported the large fall as part of its first quarter results.
In a statement, the Scottish-based business said: "Changes to annuity regulations in the UK resulted in a reduction in our UK annuity sales of around 50% following the Budget announcement.
"While it will be some time before long-term trends become clear, the negative profit impact of the changes will reflect the relatively small size of our annuity business."
The exact figures were not disclosed in the report.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
The firm's assets under administration were up 1.5% to £247.8bn driven by net inflows of £2.4bn and its fee revenue was up 12% to £374m.
In the UK business fee retail and corporate net flows increased by 75% to £0.7bn with the platform continuing to attract assets.
Standard Life also reported a 16% increase in regular premiums in the corporate pension business and adviser firms using its platform went up 8% to 1,256 with wrap customers up 26% to 142,000 over the last twelve months.
Total platform AUA increased by 25% to £20.3bn with wrap platform assets £17.5bn, up 28% on Q1 2013.
Paul Matthews, chief executive, UK and Europe at Standard Life, said there had been "unprecedented changes" to the industry in this period.
He said: "The changes made to allow customers to access their money instead of having to purchase an annuity will provide customers with more flexibility, which is a good outcome.
"While we will see less annuity business going forward our market-leading drawdown proposition offers customers more choice in how they access their income through their retirement. We have a track record of responding well to change and we are well placed to continue to move our business forward."
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