Annuity knowledge gap highlights need for advice

Annuity knowledge gap highlights need for advice

• 37%* of consumers admit to not knowing what an annuity is
• Retirement planning has been the biggest driver for people seeking financial advice over the last eight years
• Go to unbiased.co.uk to select from over 8,000 whole of market retirement advisers

New research from unbiased.co.uk, the ‘find an adviser search’, shows that almost two in five consumers (37%) don’t currently know what an annuity is. The research comes only a fortnight after the ABI’s ‘Annuity Window’ highlighted once more the importance of consumers shopping around for the best annuity deal. Reacting to the ABI’s new tool, unbiased.co.uk called upon the industry to ensure the value of whole of market advice is flagged clearly to consumers looking to shop around for an annuity.

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk comments: “There is no doubt that shopping around for the best annuity deal is one of the most important financial decisions someone will make in their lifetime. But as our research shows – if almost two in five consumers don’t know what an annuity is, how can we expect them to be able to confidently make the best choice on the different options available?

“Just like most of us would pay a professional to deal with the legal side of a house purchase, we would expect a large proportion of consumers to be best served by enlisting the help of a professional adviser when it comes to their annuity choice. Factors such as health, postcode and size of fund can all have a bearing on the annuity offered and an adviser with specialist knowledge of the market will be able to identify the best annuity option.

“We believe that tools help people engage with the annuity process and offer guidance on what to expect but do not replace the value a financial adviser can add. We would encourage everyone coming to annuitisation to go to www.unbiased.co.uk to search for and consult a whole of market annuity specialist.”

Unbiased.co.uk, which lists over 24,000 professional advisers on its search, holds details of over 8,500 advisory businesses specialising on retirement in general and over 4,500 who list annuities specifically. The website deals with over 500,000 consumer searches for an adviser every year.

The website has seen a 9% uplift in consumer demand in the first four months of 2013, compared to the same period last year.  Unbiased.co.uk’s data shows that retirement planning has consistently been the biggest driver for people seeking advice since the company’s inception over 20 years ago.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For more information contact:

Anna Schirmer/ Emily Falla/ Kate Aitchison, Lansons Communications: 020 7294 3682

For expert commentary or case studies from over 200 media-friendly advisers, journalists should visit unbiased.co.uk Bluebook - The Media IFA Network

Twitter: @unbiased_co_uk

LinkedIn: Unbiased.co.uk - Online networking for professional advisers

*Data from online poll on the unbiased.co.uk website, data taken on 3 September 2013, based on 172 participants.

About unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website

Unbiased.co.uk is the UK's most comprehensive free professional adviser search website, focused on empowering users with the resources they need to make better informed financial and legal decisions.  We not only help consumers and businesses find the best adviser for their needs from over 20,000 IFAs, financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants listed on our search but we also help them research the market by providing relevant information and tools.  At unbiased.co.uk we like to be transparent about what we do and aim to provide the easiest way for consumers to find and compare advisers meeting their requirements.

The unbiased.co.uk website launched in 1998 and rapidly became the UK’s leading online destination for consumers and businesses looking to find an adviser.  Now attracting over one million visitors a year, unbiased.co.uk is the default adviser directory for consumer websites recommending their audience to ‘find an adviser’.

Unbiased Ltd promotes the benefits of financial and legal advice to consumers and businesses and would like to thank the following companies for their support:

Alliance Trust	Opinium Research
Aviva	Prudential
AXA Wealth	Royal London 360°
Bright Grey	Schroders
Canada Life Ltd	Scottish Life
Clerical Medical Investment	Scottish Widows Plc
Legal & General	Standard Life Assurance Limited
Lockton	TaxCalc
MetLife	Zurich Intermediary Group
NS&I

Unbiased Ltd - Registered Office: 12-14 Berry St, London, EC1V 0AU.  Registered in England: No. 06775878.