GoCompare is planning a move into annuity evaluation, the first major price comparison site to do so.

Without setting a timeline, the website has expressed a strong interest in the market and told PM it believes it can “add value to consumers” by taking advantage of open market option (OMO) rules.

GoCompare, which currently gives two million general insurance quotes a month, is also toying with personal pension price comparison.

Business development director John Miles said: “We don’t have a date, but we will definitely look to promote consumers’ use of the OMO.”

Solvency II will prompt a raft of asset-backed annuities to hit the market, with Legal & General (L&G) preparing the release of its own product.

Industry commentators have welcomed the government’s consultation on removing the obligation to annuitise by age 75, but warn the proposals for a minimum income requirement (MIR) must be exercised fairly.

Solvency II will prompt a raft of asset-backed annuities to hit the market, with Legal & General (L&G) preparing the release of its own product.

The new service matching small pension pots with annuities would favour working on a fee-based model, but has taken the commission route due to pressure from life offices.
Annuity Clearing House (ACH), which was first mooted last May, has finally launched, with the aim of allowing independent financial advisers (IFAs) to find annuities for clients with pots as small as £1,000.
The service will provide commission levels of between 1.1% and 1.7% for intermediaries who can process annuities in as little as seven minutes.

The further decline of annuity rates will hinge on the gilt market reaction to June’s emergency Budget, advisers have been warned.
Falling bond yields, increased longevity and Solvency II regulation are predicted to take their toll on already dampened rates.
Tim Whiting, director of Alexander Forbes Annuity Bureau, said: “The reaction of the gilt market to the Budget and any changes in the outlook for interest rates will quickly tell us whether annuities will continue their downward trend for 2010.”

The industry has reacted strongly to rule changes following last month’s increase in the normal minimum pension age from 50 to 55.

More than 70% of insurance groups cite preparing for Solvency II as the top concern for their risk management operations.

The new government’s commitment to removing compulsory annuitisation at age 75 has been warmly welcomed by the industry.

The number of savers predicted to buy an annuity and its impact on the defined benefit (DB) market is vastly exaggerated, L&G Investment Management (LGIM) has claimed.

MetLife’s purchase of Alico, the non-life assurance business, from AIG will have little impact on Living Time, according to chief executive Kim Lerche-Thomson.

Equity release products are winning over an increasing number of independent financial advisers (IFAs), although suspicions about the proposition still remain.

MGM Advantage has officially launched its long-awaited flexible asset-backed annuity.

Living Time has praised LV for its new fixed-term annuity, after it became only the second company to launch such a product in the UK.

The annuity market is set to “explode” with new products and providers, according to this month’s survey.

Axa has become the first annuity provider to defer a product launch because of concerns about the possible effects of Solvency II legislation.

Tom McPhail used his keynote speech at this year’s Pensions Management Retirement Summit to highlight the failure of providers to promote the open market option (OMO).

McPhail, chairman of the Pensions Income Choice Association (PICA), called for universal acceptance of the OMO from all sectors of the pensions industry, to help retirees capitalise on the range of options available.

Continued innovation in the annuities market could still fail to provide for the lower end of the market, according to PM research.

Investment-linked products such as income drawdown are becoming more accessible to those with smaller pension pots, according to new research.

The credit crunch is forcing financial advisers to rethink their approach to income drawdown and other risk-based products, according to responses to PM’s forthcoming income drawdown survey.

The only reason a UK resident should take up a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) is for the death benefits, an overseas pensions specialist has warned.

The Financial Services Autho-rity’s retail distribution review (RDR) has attracted tentatively positive feedback from respondents to PM’s annual lifetime annuities survey.

Annuity transfers now take an average of eight calendar days thanks to the Options initiative, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said.

Hartford’s exit from the UK variable annuity market could kick-start product innovation from its former rivals.

The announcement that Hartford Life is to withdraw from the UK market has received mixed responses from industry specialists.

Hartford Life has suspended its retirement and investment business in the UK, citing turbulent markets as the catalyst.

The annuity industry is “wholly failing” retirees due to lack of product innovation and the low uptake of the open market option (OMO), market experts have declared.

The unpopularity of with-profits annuities has led providers to shun the term in preference of less specific titles.