Annuity transfer time down to 11 days

by Gill Montia

Story link: Annuity transfer time down to 11 days

The pensions industry’s “Options” initiative remains on track to significantly reduce the time taken for annuity transfers between providers.

Latest performance data from The Association of British Insurers (ABI) show an average transfer time of 11 calendar days in the second quarter of 2009, compared to a 31 day industry average for 2008.

However, the second quarter figure compares with eight calendar days in the first three months of 2009.

The Association’s director of life and savings, Maggie Craig, says: “It is still early days for Options and as more providers go online, it was always expected that average transfer times would fluctuate.”

She adds: “The good news is that in just one year, average transfer times have fallen by nearly three weeks.”

The initiative, which has been operational since the beginning of the year, has been developed by Origo, the e-commerce standards and services body.

It initially aimed to speed up the exchange of information and funds in the annuity transfer process and has recently been extended to cover pension-to-pension transfers and Immediate Vesting Personal Pensions (IVPP) transfers.

Five providers are currently using Options for pension-to-pension transfers, with more expected to join in due course.

Meanwhile, 14 companies are using the initiative for open market option and IVPP transfers.