It pays to read the comment boards at the bottom of stories sometimes. If you look today at IFAonline it carries a grim prediction from Deloitte that annuity rates could fall between 5 and twenty per cent due to Solvency II – a subject we have blogged about in the past, but the comment from Billy Burrows is arguably as significant – that at these levels you are looking at simply getting a return of your cash or even losing on the deal with negative interest rates. I happen to think annuities may be the silent – but no less deadly for that – aspect of the pension crisis. If only MPs or Bank of England bosses had to rely on them it might get a higher profile.
