Scottish Widows

With demand for bulk annuities predicted to reach £350bn by 2026, supply may not be able to keep up, which could push up pricing. Kristian Brunt-Seymour looks at whether it is an issue and what it means for schemes.

People's optimism in their retirement saving plans has dropped since Brexit according to research by Scottish Widows.

Buy-in and buyout deals slowed down in the first six months to £2.7bn, which is just over half of business written in H1 last year, according to LCP.

Lack of consistency across defined contribution (DC) default funds may result in larger numbers of members opting out, Punter Southall Aspire has warned.

The ICI Pension Fund has completed a £630m buy-in covering over 4,000 of its members with Scottish Widows.

Scottish Widows has secured its second bulk annuity deal with a £54m buy-in for Barloworld UK Pension Scheme after the insurer entered the market last year.

When the DC charge cap was introduced last year it was meant to safeguard value for money. However, Charlotte Moore finds this isn't necessarily the case.

The new pensions bill will cap early exit fees charged by trust-based occupational schemes in a bid to remove "unreasonable barriers" to accessing pension freedoms.

Scottish Widows will be one of the first providers to bulk switch its workplace pension customers into default funds tailored to freedom and choice.

Early exit charges for members wanting to access their pot at age 55 will be capped at 5% according to Standard Life.