There was a record high in demand for annuities from advisers in the first half of the year, according to figures published today by pensions technology provider iPipeline.

The firm’s annuities portal accounts for 25% of all quotes in the UK retirement market, according to the firm.

It said quotes for annuities were up 12% in the first six month of this year, compared to the same period in 2023.

It was the highest first half since 2013, when iPipeline began tracking the figures.

The increase followed a record 60% year-over-year increase in adviser annuity comparisons in 2023 compared to 2022.

Greg Neall, Chartered Financial Planner at Wake up your Wealth, said: “This clearly shows a continued return to the annuity market by advisers, which comes as no surprise as annuity rates for those in their mid to late sixties are comparable to sustainable drawdown rates.”

Paul Yates, product strategy director at iPipeline, said: “We’ve seen advisers are searching for annuities during a time of higher interest rates. We assume, that now rates have started to fall and may continue to do so, these annuity numbers will start to slowly reduce.”

He said it will be interesting to see what happens in the second half of the year. “We are unlikely to see a return to interest rates under 1% again, so annuities should remain a key part of an adviser’s retirement toolkit, especially for older retirees who need income guarantees.”

He said he also expected to see growth as the number of people with drawdown pots increases and as the age profile of holders grows.

But he warned the new government could start to make major changes, “and that may impact the way we save for, and spend in, retirement.”

In a November 2023 report, iPipeline data showed that among 40 to 66-year-old savers in the UK, the average target pot was £223,503, while the average total value of personal pension pots across all schemes was £167,891.

Yet, nearly a quarter - or 23% - estimated they had less than £50,000, while 37% had no target at all.