PanaceaIFA enters pensions market with Axa partnership

Online IFA resource PanaceaIFA is launching a new section for pensions in partnership with Axa Life Europe, which will provide information, pension tools, research and educational support ahead of the Retail Distribution Review.

Axa Life Europe is the Axa Group’s foremost producer of investment products with guarantees - variable annuities - in Europe.

Derek Bradley, chief executive officer of PanaceaIFA, said: “We have seen an increase in interest in unit-linked guaranteed pension solutions among IFAs, as in the run-up to RDR they need to consider all options and look at a much broader range of products.

“Through this partnership, PanaceaIFA and Axa will be bringing them more information and options in this innovative product space.”

The new partnership coincides with the release of Axa’s Cost of living in retirement report, which reveals almost 40 per cent of pensioners do not feel financially comfortable in retirement.

Collecting responses from 200 pensioners with income from either defined benefit or defined contribution pensions, the report also found that almost 60 per cent of pensioners did not seek financial advice and of those that did 14 per cent waited until just before they retired.

Remarkably, 69 per cent or respondents retired earlier than expected due to ill health, redundancy or the need to care for elderly parents.