Industry data underlines the popularity of pension flexibility with the Financial Conduct Authority showing more than 204,000 over-55s accessing their cash in the first three months - more than double the 95,000 in the comparable months of 2013.
But MetLife believes the industry has yet to rise to the challenge and that the industry has focused on updating existing solutions rather than delivering innovation which meets the need for certainty, flexibility and value for money.
MetLife analysis shows the success of traditional drawdown in the new era has come at a price with savers nursing losses of up to £250 million due to stock market volatility since April 6th.
Adviser and consumer research for MetLife shows strong demand for some form of guarantees – 72% of advisers believe clients need some level of guaranteed income while 82% of savers want most of their income guaranteed.
Simon Massey, Wealth Management Director at MetLife UK, said:
“The six-month mark is a natural time to review pension freedoms and the verdict for the industry is that we must do better. Savers have embraced flexibility and are engaging with the new freedoms but as yet the industry is not meeting demand with new solutions for 21st century retirement.
“We believe MetLife’s new Retirement Portfolio is the first product specifically designed for pension freedoms and provides daily lock-ins of investment gains while enabling savers to start, stop and restart their income to suit their personal needs."
