An increasing number of pension providers have been joining a scheme which ensures that waiting times for transfers is reduced. So far the scheme has seen transfer times drop by nearly one third. At the end of 2009 there were 16 insurers on board the “options” scheme, which equates to 94% of UK insurers, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The initiative was launched early in 2009 and was designed to speed up annuity transfer times, which can be frustrating for annuitants and providers.
One case we noted saw one poor annuitant wait an exasperating two years for the funds to be transferred. This it must be said is an extreme example as the average now is around 8 to 11 days, whereas before the scheme the average was closer to 31 days. And given there was a surge in demand for annuities in Q1 of this year, around 7,000 extra, the insurers have done well to maintain the good standard they achieved initially. Maggie Craig who works for the ABI praised their good work saying that…“…despite the addition of new pension providers and increased transfer volumes performance has remained steady.” She added that these figures demonstrated that the industry could “pull together” to deliver a higher level of service for the customer. The fact that 40% of providers reported transfer times of less than 7 days would seem to confirm this opinion.
Some companies however were named as having longer than average transfers times; Pearl Assurance, NPI, Pheonix, London Life, Axa Winterthur and Friends Provident. However it should be noted that they are new to the scheme and it is expected that they’re transfer rates will improve. Abbey Life and Windsor Life are two more companies who are scheduled to join the scheme soon. So if you are in a hurry to get your first annuity payment and lump sum, then the good news is that your wait should be shorter than it would have been just a couple of years ago!
