Ben Franklin, Assistant Director of Research and Policy, International Longevity Centre – UK said:

‘The FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review contains a set of very sensible recommendations for addressing the challenges posed by pensions freedoms, namely lack of engagement, taking the path of least resistance and a desire to take savings as cash.

In particular we think investment pathways to prevent particularly sub-optimal drawdown outcomes is a useful development. There is of course a more fundamental question about the long-term impact on the consumer of moving away from products that insure against longevity risk (annuities) and towards products that continue to expose consumers to investment risks in retirement (drawdown).

In this regard the regulator can only go so far. Public policy, industry and consumer bodies will need to work together to ensure this shift does not cause excessive consumer harm’.

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