"We believe the compulsory code of practice announced today by the ABI is an important step forward in helping retirees secure the right advice at retirement.
"As shown by the ABI, almost a third of retirees simply complete the annuity application form they receive from their existing provider. Consumers must be encouraged to discuss their personal requirements at retirement, including important factors such as medical conditions, other existing pension policies, together with the competitiveness of their existing pension provider, all of which should be taken into account.
"The changes announced today will help bring greater clarity and peace of mind for retirees. Our quarterly Real Retirement Report, issued last week, which tracks the finances and concerns of those in retirement, showed that over 55s income and savings have fallen this quarter, while debts have increased.
"Consumer inertia towards shopping around for the best available annuity at retirement has long been a concern to Aviva, as highlighted among other proposals in our report ‘Rethinking Retirement in the UK', published this year. It is crucial that consumers receive the same level of care and advice from their existing pension provider as they potentially would through the open market option.
"In summary when dealing with customers who want to retire pension providers should:"
1. Encourage customers to discuss their requirement, rather than just sign and return a form.
2. Ask for information on important factors such as medical conditions or additional pension policies and explicitly take it into account.
3. Make the general level of competitiveness of their annuity offering available in the public domain and readily accessible for customers.
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