15 May 2008
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has criticised the
insurance industry for mis-selling pension annuities after it found
customers were given "weak" and "misleading" advice. A leaked
report revealed that despite warnings two years ago, insurers
continue to deny retirees essential information to aid their
pension annuity purchase.
The report found that a large proportion of the information
being sent out to customers was failing to encourage them to shop
around, leaving them badly informed about how to get the best
retirement income and many overpaying as a result. Further findings
showed that half of insurers are overcharging their customers.
The FSA has given insurers six months to sort out the
problem.
