Karen Barrett, Chief Executive at unbiased.co.uk, comments on today’s FCA annuity market review:

Karen Barrett, chief executive at unbiased.co.uk, the find an adviser search, comments on today’s FCA annuity market review:

“There is no surprise in the fact that the FCA has concluded the annuity market isn’t working and that 80% of people are currently not getting the best rate or terms for their retirement income. We know that the decisions people make when it comes to their retirement income options will be one of the most important financial decisions they make in their lives and these decisions need to be actively managed and carefully planned – something the industry needs to help consumers do.

“The answer to this problem doesn’t ‘simply’ lie in making the shopping around process for annuities easier. For some consumers an annuity may not even be the best choice, so we believe that encouraging consumers to seek whole of market advice is the only way to ensure they can make the right decision for their retirement income and every consumer should be given clear guidance on how to find the best adviser for their needs. We need to do more to help people seek professional advice and to outline all the benefits that advice will offer.

“Our Get Advised research shows only 27% of people think they’d be confident arranging an annuity without the help of a financial adviser, clearly showing the value whole of market, professional advice can add when people are making this important decision.

“We also know that there can be a significant uplift in retirement income as a result of seeking advice from a specialist whole of market adviser. Our ‘find an adviser’ checklist’ offers useful questions and tips when searching for an adviser and things you need to keep in mind about the advice process. Consumer confidence in making decisions affecting retirement may be low but it’s crucial to remember you’re not alone in this - retirement planning is the number one advice area searched for by consumers on unbiased.co.uk.

“Unbiased.co.uk, which lists over 25,000 professional advisers on its search, holds details of 8,000 advisory businesses specialising on retirement. In addition, over 3,000 of these advisers specifically state they advise clients with smaller pension pots of £50,000 or less.  For anyone approaching retirement who needs to make decisions about their future go to www.unbiased.co.uk to search for and consult a whole of market annuity specialist.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

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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’.

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