08 June 2009
Savers are being forced to wait for their pension, due to
insurance companies dragging their heels on converting savings into
an annuity.
Despite efforts by the insurance industry to speed up systems,
the average time it took to transfer money from a pension fund to
an annuity provider last year was eight days longer than it was a
year ago.
Nigel Callaghan, a pensions analyst with Hargreaves Lansdown,
called the situation "a disgrace". Hargreaves Lansdown in
conjunction with Partnership - the specialist annuity provider -
reviewed 7,000 annuity cases stretching back over four years and
the results make grim reading. While a handful of providers are
able to complete this transaction in less than 10 days, many are
taking far longer.
Those who had a pension with Windsor Life had to wait an average
of 99 days to collect their pension if they bought their annuity
elsewhere. Lincoln Assurance did not fare much better, forcing
policyholders to wait an average of 73 days. HSBC and NatWest took
57 and 59 days respectively, with Pearl Assurance customers waiting
an average of 49 days.
Meanwhile, Abbey Life took 45 days, Sun Life of Canada 47 days,
Wesleyan 44 days and Aegon took 40.
Other household names, including Axa, Friends Provident, Legal
& General, Prudential, Scottish Widows, Scottish Provident and
NPI take at least 30 days to transfer savers money.
