Annuity rates have halved in the last 15 years, meaning that those who are facing retirement within the not too distant future, are looking at daunting prospects.
This enormous fall in annuity rates will mean that those about to retire will have to weigh up their options and rethink lifestyle and financial commitments.
The financial options for pensioners living in the UK are slim and include working beyond the ages of 60 and 70 and/ or selling the family home.
With worrying predictions for future pensioners, we are inevitably going to see more and more of them falling into the ‘poverty trap’. With UK state pensions facing real problems those who had planned to retire 10, 20 or even 30 years ago with the idea that annuity rates would have doubled, are going to have to re-evaluate their plan.
You cannot underestimate the problems faced by the UK pensions industry and those intending to retire sooner rather than later. It is also important to bear in mind that these issues might be here to stay for good.