§ 28. Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to reform the annuity rule for pensioners. [36354]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe Government issued a consultation document, "Modernising Annuities", on 5 February to stimulate discussion on annuity issues. The consultation will run until 5 April, and we will then consider the responses before deciding how to proceed.
As the Government have repeatedly made clear, it is important that pension funds built up with the support of tax relief are used for their intended purpose—that is, to provide pensioners with a secure income in retirement. Our intention is to ensure that people make well-informed and appropriate decisions when purchasing annuities, and that the annuity market is flexible and offers good value choices within that market.