Annuity rate cuts and all-time low interest rates are risking the success of pension freedoms by limiting the choice of guaranteed retirement income solutions and pushing savers into unprotected drawdown, according to MetLife.
Strong demand from advisers for innovation in retirement and investment solutions has seen MetLife’s assets under management pass £5bn ($6.5bn, €5.8bn), the company said on Friday.
US insurance giant MetLife reported a drop in net income of 94% to $64m (£48m, €57m) for the second quarter after bringing forward an annual review of its variable annuities business as it looks to offload a substantial part of its US retail business.
The UK regulator is planning to take a fresh look at how it calculates levels of redress when unsuitable advice is given on the transfer of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. While advisers claim it’s not just DB schemes that are facing issues, with some defined contribution (DC) pension transfers also proving problematic.
Advisers in the UK do not see the launch of online robo-advice alternatives as a threat to their face-to-face advice business models, research from MetLife shows.
MetLife Hong Kong is on course to exceed its 2016 recruitment target of adding 1,000 new agents to its already 700-strong workforce.
British financial advisers are becoming increasingly concerned about making retirement income recommendations following the launch of pension freedom rules, according to MetLife.
The US Treasury has confirmed that it will appeal a federal court judgment that insurer MetLife is not a systemically important financial institutions (Sifi) and therefore should not face tougher regulatory oversight.
US-based life insurance company MetLife saw its share price rise 5% after a judge ruled that the government’s decision to label it a systemically important financial institution (SIFI) be withdrawn.
MetLife, the largest life insurer in the US, confirmed on Thursday that it is in talks to sell its roughly 4,000-strong adviser force MetLife Premier Client Group to Massachusetts-based MassMutual Financial Group.
MetLife is to step up its efforts to support financial advisers in the UK by launching a nationwide series of roadshows focused on now to take greater advantage of the new pension freedoms.
Insurance giant MetLife has weighed into the debate over the financial advice gap in the UK, arguing its research shows the cost of providing advice is stopping advisers expanding to offer their services to mass market.
