Legal and General’s head of strategy for individual annuities Tim Gosden has exited the business after 11 years as part of its wider restructuring.
A spokesperson for the business said that Mr Gosden has made a “great contribution” to L&G. L&G refused to confirm whether the position will be filled, following the downturn in individual annuity sales due to the radical pension reforms.
The L&G spokesperson said: “The at-retirement landscape is changing post the Budget announcement and although we believe individual lifetime annuities will still be part of the mix of product options available to customers in the future, the dynamics are and will continue to change.
“Tim decided that he wished to look at his options outside of Legal and General. We thank Tim for the commitment he has shown in making Legal and General one of the most respected annuity business today and wish him all the very best with his future plans.”
Last year, Just Retirement cut 90 roles and has scrapped the planned salary review for all employees set to take place in July 2014, as part of its £14m cost reduction plan that was announced in the wake of the Budget.
Just Retirement was one of several annuity providers to cut roles since the Budget.
In April, MGM Advantage announced it will be making 80 redundancies and will be launching a “radical new proposition” after admitting it “would be madness” to ignore the radical pension changes announced in the Budget.
In June, Partnership announced the loss of approximately 100 roles across its London and Redhill offices as part of cost savings further to those outlined earlier this year.
Late last year, Legal and General secured a bulk annuity contract removing £2.5bn liabilities from TRW Automotive’s balance sheet and insuring more than 22,000 of the scheme’s pensioners.
The scheme previously implemented a liability driven investment strategy with Legal and General Investment Management in 2007.
This £2.5bn transaction followed the £3bn bulk annuity contract with the ICI Pension Fund that Legal and General secured earlier this year. L&G has now written £8.3bn of total annuity transactions to date in 2014.
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
