Research has show that some insurers are taking as long as two months to transfer funds into an annuity. Pension experts looked at some 7,500 cases over a 48 month time period to find out just how long pension providers were taking to move the money. The worse offender was Windsor Life, taking on average, a staggering 99 days to move money.
However high street names such as NatWest and HSBC did not fair much better, with transfer times approaching 60 days in some circumstances. Some within the industry claim this is a deliberate ploy designed to squeeze a bit more interest out of the money by keeping it for longer.
To counter this problem, a new system was launched last year in association with the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The “Options” online interface allows insurers to transfer information and funds much quicker between each other. And the new system appears to have been a success, with trasnfer times down to just 8 days in Q1. Many users of the new system are urging all providers to utilise the new technology to improve the service offered to annuitants.
