New Annuity Era: Understanding retirement choices and the annuity puzzle

May 22, 2014

Budget 2014 scrapped the ‘annuities deal’ for ‘defined contribution’ (DC) pension saving in the UK, removing an obligation to turn tax-advantaged pension savings into a secure pension income that stretches back to the Finance Act of 1921.

In order to inform subsequent policy development, this report assembles and reviews a range of relevant academic and other evidence on:

  • The numeracy and financial capability of those around retirement age in the UK;
  • The experience of countries with voluntary annuity markets;
  • The extensive academic literature on the so-called ‘annuity puzzle’, i.e. the low prevalence of annuity purchases observable in countries with voluntary annuitisation frameworks.

Download a copy of the report: New Annuity Era – Understanding retirement choices and the annuity puzzle

This report has been made possible by the kind support of Aviva and Age UK.

Author: James Lloyd, Strategic Society Centre

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