L&G retirement reports strong sales

Legal & General Group's retirement division has reported strong sales in the first half of 2016 as uncertainty around the EU referendum failed to shake the sector.

Legal & General Group's retirement division has reported strong sales in the first half of 2016 as uncertainty around the EU referendum failed to shake the sector.

Lifetime mortgage sales exceeded £200m in H1 and were greater then L&G'sindividual annuity sales during the same period.

Retirement sales across bulk annuities, individual annuities and lifetime mortgages of £4bn were achieved in H1.

Kerrigan Procter, managing director of Legal & General Retirement, said: "Political and market uncertainty around the EU Referendum did not get in the way of business, as companies or individuals will always need to manage their employees' or own retirement.

"Bulk annuity transactions continue to be an important way for Legal & General to deploy capital to help our UK clients, and use the premiums to invest in real assets such as UK infrastructure and direct lending."

Legal & General Retirement now provides more lifetime mortgages to its customers than individual annuities.

And it expects this trend to accelerate as more baby boomers retire and choose to access their housing wealth to help fund their retirement, instead of buying an individual annuity.

Bernie Hickman, CEO of Legal & General Home Finance, added: "Legal & General entered the lifetime mortgage market last year.

"Our lowest interest rate on lifetime mortgages is now below 5%, and we have recently been awarded Lifetime Mortgage Lender of the year.

"We have seen rapid growth, and within a year of entering the lifetime mortgage market, now provide more lifetime mortgages to our customers than individual annuities. Individual annuities still have their place, but customers want more choice in how they fund their retirement, with accessing housing wealth being an attractive option for asset rich, income poor retirees."