Legal & General is set to question the Financial Services Authority (FSA) about the out-of-date and limited data it has in the pension annuity rate tables it publishes on its consumer-facing website.
It is meeting with the FSA next week in a bid to ensure retirees researching pension annuities using the City watchdog’s website were able to receive real-time annuity quotes, up-to-date annuity rates, as well as being able to make a provision for postcode annuities.
It is a good thing the FSA provide an independent source for retirees to compare annuity rates but perhaps it is worrying that information provided on the regulator’s consumer-facing website is not always up to date.
As choosing a pension annuity with the right annuity rates is such a crucial decision it is vital the general public has a source that provides accurate information.
Some larger annuity providers do not publish their rates anymore because the FSA do not incorporate postcode annuity pricing into the website. The FSA are looking to address this.
Ideally, what we want is a real-time website whereby the customer gets a real-time annuity quote, as they indeed can on some websites such as this one.
The larger annuity providers are saying that they want to work with the FSA to help them achieve their aims.
