Liverpool Victoria sales shift mirrors UK pensions overhaul
RADICAL changes to the pensions landscape upended insurer Liverpool Victoria last quarter after the group sold fewer annuities but more bonds.
Moves by chancellor George Osborne to give retirees more choice about how they spend their pension pots saw LV’s annuity sales slump.
The group, which sponsors the UK’s premier cricket competition the County Championship, sold £70m of annuities in the three months ending March, down from £115m in the same period last year.
However, sales of flexible guarantee bonds by the group, led by chief executive Mike Rogers, more-than-doubled from £29m last year to £60m in the last quarter.
Pension sales also rose from £117m to £185m for the quarter.
“The overall increase in retirement sales reflects the wide breadth of products that we now offer customers,” Rogers said.
“In pensions, retirees are increasingly choosing income drawdown products and this is reflected in the decrease in annuity sales, which we expected following the Budget changes announced last year.”
Overall gross written premiums at the 6,000-person strong group remained flat year-on-year at £362m, down slightly from £363m in the prior year.