Age Partnership has launched a new service for the medically underwritten bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market.
They will contact members to obtain information on their health, lifestyle and medical history, which will then be passed to the selected insurers which are active in this growing market.
The data supplied will allow the insurers to assess the member’s longevity, which Age Partnership stated could potentially reduce the cost of the BPA premium for the scheme.
Age Partnership Underwriting Services is looking to engage with employee benefit companies and advisers who are actively participating in the market and may be involved with pension scheme trustees who are considering undertaking the process.
Medically underwritten bulk annuities have steadily grown in popularity, with a KPMG report last year predicting sales will reach £25bn a year by 2020.
Adam Carnall, head of Age Partnership Underwriting Services, said: “One of the potential areas for major growth is the addition of health and lifestyle underwriting as part of the BPA process, but what stood out for us is the lack of options scheme trustees had when looking for a partner to engage with their members to collect this information.
He pointed out that for many years, the firm’s annuity broking service has been collecting underwriting data from customers for individual enhanced annuity sales, making the move an easy decision.
Tim Coulson, director of defined benefit solutions at Just Retirement, said: “Age Partnership’s announcement that they intend to provide data collection services to organisations operating in the defined benefit de-risking segment is positive news for employee benefit consultants, their clients and providers.
“Wider choice and competition should encourage further innovation in this exciting and fast growing segment.”
emma.hughes@ft.com
