Royal London has launched a new annuity bureau service for customers who wish to buy a guaranteed income for life, which has been developed in partnership with Just Retirement Solutions.
The new service will be available to Royal London’s 4m direct customers who do not have a financial adviser approaching retirement, the firm said, but it will not offer customers regulated retirement advice.
The firm said it is the first of the UK’s major pension providers to offer this direct service to its customers and that “despite the changes to pensions introduced in the recent Budget Royal London firmly believes that, for many people, annuities are a good option”.
Firms represented on the bureau provide 99 per cent of the annuities bought in the open market, Royal London said.
Royal London claims it has “significantly” expanded its current service which is provided by Prudential, as customers are now able to compare both standard and enhanced annuities from 10 annuity providers.
Phil Loney, chief executive of Royal London Group, said: “Every year thousands of our policy holders reach retirement age. Recently the number of people taking cash has doubled, and we anticipate this trend to continue.
“Many people are likely to take the cash element whilst keeping the rest of their pot invested, and consider taking an annuity later in life.
“It’s vital people make the right decision when purchasing an annuity – it is a crucial, irreversible decision which affects their income for the rest of their lives.
“I urge all our direct, non-adviser customers who are approaching retirement to make time to use our new service so they get the right type of annuity, with the highest income available to them.”
