'FSA tables are now even more misleading'
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Product providers have launched a fresh attack on the FSA, claiming the regulator’s Money Made Clear annuity tables are even more misleading now that Aegon and Canada Life have entered the postcode annuity market.
Aviva, Prudential and Legal & General slammed the FSA more than a year ago because its tables, powered by Defaqto, did not include postcode annuity rates. The FSA has failed to make the information more accurate despite Aegon and Canada Life launching postcode pricing.
The table includes standard rates for L&G and Canada Life, rather than postcode rates, while for Aegon, Aviva and Prudential there is only a phone number and no rate provided. The companies say the website is now even more misleading for the public. Aviva head of annuity arketing Darren Dicks says: “You still cannot get a proper quote on the FSA’s website. This time last year, we were calling on the FSA to act but nothing has happened. They are still misleading customers.”
’This is the first place consumers look for information on annuities and many could be missing out on a better rate’
Legal & General head of annuities Tim Gosden says: “A huge proportion of the conventional annuity market now offers postcode pricing.
“The FSA needs to make the tables accurate because this is the first place that consumers look for information on annuities and many could be missing out on a better rate.”
The FSA says it should have a new system operating by the end of the year.
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Readers' comments (12)
Incompetent Regulators Awards Team | 18 Mar 2010 2:24 pm
Like their 10,000 page rules book, complicated and no one including the FSA themselves understand it.
Money made Muddy by the FSA.
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How funny!! | 18 Mar 2010 3:38 pm
And Sants wants to rush through 'product risk/compliance assessment' in the near future (pre-election??) ... ... but the above comparative tables may be operational 'by the end of the year'. Joys of priorities, eh??
I'd laugh if I wasn't already crying into my cuppa ... ... Is there any more bad/cr*p news due??
What a chronically cr*p Regulator we have - HS is worth every penny of his salary/bonus/inflated pension ... ...
Yeah, right ... ...
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Jeff | 18 Mar 2010 3:56 pm
Last time I looked at these tables they were way out to what Exchange / Assureweb (real time quotes) were quoting - in a market where rate changes have taken place quite a bit recently, this needs to be up to the minute, and if it's not, it's not woth having!
Who fines the FSA for providing misleading information to our clients??
They need to get their own glass house repaired with toughened glass before they start throwing more stones and start painting their kettles a dark colour....
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snooks | 18 Mar 2010 4:14 pm
Should we be able to tell that to the FSA when we feel like it
'oh we should have a new system operating by the end of the year'--you'll just need to wait till then for your GABRIEL return
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IT | 18 Mar 2010 4:16 pm
As a consumer site, Money Made Clear is an interesting concept though the execution on Annuities is woeful....’Just the facts’ is not an appropriate strap line.
I understand that some IFA's use this site for research which is concerning in a world where real time quotes are freely available in the market.
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Anonymous | 18 Mar 2010 7:46 pm
I'm glad to see the comments.
I noticed that they were 'difficulties' and wrote to the FSA who basically told me that .... tough!
It said it all.
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Joe | 19 Mar 2010 10:23 am
Has anyone tried their retirement income calculator? I ran one through and it came out with exactly the same figures if I saved the same amount, 5%, 10% or 25% more. What an incentive for the public to buy up government debt, sorry, I mean an annuity!
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R S W | 19 Mar 2010 11:44 am
The FSA should stick to what they are good at, SFA, and the first and last words are sweet and all respectively!.
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Craig Mcmcgowan | 19 Mar 2010 11:49 am
why are the FSA getting involved in something that they clearly haven't got the minerals to do. No wonder they want risk free vanilla products, its the only way they could compile them on their money made unfathomable site
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Pissed Off IFA | 19 Mar 2010 1:00 pm
Do not know why we, ifas, are whinging all the time. It is about time we banded together and sort out these monkeys in Canary Wharf. Our strength should be our unity. FSA want to divide and conquer.
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