This trend also suggests that the upcoming pension freedom rules have triggered advisers to consider income drawdown for a wider spectrum of clients.
The data also shows that the average pension pot analysed is significantly smaller than two years ago. For the period April 2014 to January 2015, an analysis of income drawdown cases found the average pot size reviewed by advisers was only £155,905 compared with £262,688 from the same period one year earlier.
ABI findings show that levels of drawdown sales are high and more consumers may now be considering this as their preferred at-retirement option. This growth in the number of income drawdown cases is not however equally reflected across male and female clients. In the past year, there has been a 46% increase in the number of income drawdown cases for male clients, yet when looking at female clients, the rise is much smaller at 24%.
Furthermore, when comparing the ratio of male and female clients being considered by advisers for income drawdown, female clients only make up 17% of income drawdown cases. The small percentage of women indicates that they may be relying on their partner’s retirement savings or in fact not seeking advice when it comes to planning their retirement.
Andy McCabe, Managing Director at Selectapension commented:
“We expect income drawdown usage to continue to surge after the pension reforms come into force as a wider group of clients consider different options for their retirement income. It is likely this will create a greater number of clients seeking out pension advice, and hopefully women will also be actively seeking professional advice about their retirement options."
