Pensions - Articles - Bulk annuity market continues to strengthen in 2014

 According to research by Barnett Waddingham, UK insurers completed bulk annuity transactions totalling around £2.5bn in Quarter 2 of 2014. The figure for the first six months of 2014 was about £6.9bn, meaning the business completed so far in 2014 is already well on the way to beating the total value of business completed in 2013 of £7.5bn.

 Pension Insurance Corporation won the largest value of business in Quarter 2 with transactions worth approximately £1.65bn. This was mainly due to the £1.6bn pensioner transaction between Pension Insurance Corporation and the Total UK Pension Plan. Rothesay Life and Prudential both won business worth approximately £0.3bn during the quarter.

 Mark Paxton, Senior Bulk Annuity Consultant said: “In terms of the value of business won, 2014 is well on course to be a record-breaking year. The £1.6bn Total UK transaction and the £3.6bn ICI transaction earlier in the year demonstrate that large deals such as these can be achieved.

 “Other insurers are considering their entry into the market which should increase competition and provide a boost to capacity next year, particularly at the smaller end of the market. However, it is important that schemes are well-prepared if they want to obtain quotes – insurers are looking carefully at the cases they will quote on to make sure a transaction is realistic.”