Press releases

Legal & General agrees annuity partnership with PensionBee

Legal & General Retail Retirement has agreed a new partnership within its Retirement Income business to provide annuities to PensionBee customers.

3 Aug 2020


Full press release

From 3rd August, customers enquiring about an annuity with PensionBee will be introduced to Legal & General for further information, or to get a quotation. Legal & General will also help customers find the best rate available through its whole of market annuity comparison service, Annuity Ready.

This new partnership has partly been driven by forthcoming Investment Pathways regulations, which include a pathway toward a guaranteed income product, such as a lifetime annuity.

This is the fifth deal Legal & General has announced and follows similar partnerships with the likes of AEGON, Prudential and Sun Life Financial of Canada.

Romi Savova, CEO, PensionBee: "We’re pleased to be once again partnering with Legal & General, and are excited to introduce an annuity product for our at-retirement customers. PensionBee is committed to helping savers ensure they are in the most appropriate investment product based on their retirement objectives.

While COVID-19 has delayed the implementation of the FCA’s Investment Pathways rules until February 2021, we believe savers need to be better informed of their choices today and recognise that for some, an annuity can offer peace of mind, particularly in periods of market turbulence. Everyone deserves a happy retirement, and we hope that this new addition to our product range will help more of our customers achieve their retirement goals."

Emma Byron, Managing Director, Legal & General Retail Retirement: "At Legal & General we are committed to helping everyone plan for and fund their retirement. For many retirees, we believe annuities continue to play an important role, especially for those seeking financial security. We are therefore really pleased to partner with PensionBee to offer customers the option of a guaranteed income from an annuity.

We also support the adoption of the FCA Investment Pathways approach, as this provides better safeguards for non-advised customers, helping ensure they get the best opportunities to enjoy their retirement."


The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be relied upon by private investors or any other persons to make financial decisions.

Legal & General's Pension Annuity

Pension Annuity is a lifetime annuity which pays the client a regular income, guaranteed for the rest of their life.

The client can tailor the income to meet their needs, so they'll know exactly what they'll be receiving and when. Options could include:

  • The client may receive a higher income, also known as an enhanced income, if they have certain health or lifestyle conditions, such as smoking and being overweight.
  • An option to have income which increases annually to protect against inflation.
  • A range of death benefits to provide income for dependants in the event of the client's death.
  • Clients can choose payment frequencies to be monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly; in advance or in arrears.

There are risks too. They include:

  • The client could lose money - pension annuities don’t have a ‘cash-in’ value and the total income paid from the client’s annuity could be less than the amount they used to buy it. A guaranteed payment period and/or dependant's pension can be added to reduce this risk.
  • Timing - the amount of pension income we’ll offer the client will be based on our annuity rates at the time. If they buy when rates are low, their income will reflect this.
  • Inflation - price inflation can reduce the real value of the client’s income over time, which could mean that it doesn’t stretch as far in future years, an increasing income can reduce this risk.
  • It's a once and for all decision. Once their annuity is in payment the client can't change any of their payment options, even if their circumstances change.
  • Deteriorating health. The pension income we offer the client will be based on the information they provide when they apply. If their health subsequently deteriorates, we won’t be able to increase their income.

About PensionBee

PensionBee is the UK’s leading online pension provider, enabling customers to interact with their savings through its unique combination of smart technology and dedicated customer service.

Since it was founded in 2014 by Romi Savova, PensionBee has been a challenger in an industry ripe for disruption. It has grown rapidly by helping consumers to solve the challenges they face when it comes to locating, combining and managing their pension savings. It now counts over 85,000 active customers from 18-80 years of age with over £800 million in assets under administration.

Its range of plans are tailored to customers’ needs and are 100% FSCS protected. Plans are managed by some of the world’s largest money managers including: Legal & General, BlackRock, HSBC and State Street Global Advisors.

PensionBee uses its proprietary technology and Open APIs to allow customers to manage their pension, view their live balance, make contributions and withdrawals online and with the help of a smart calculator to plan their saving. It continuously engages with customers through its dedicated customer account managers and listens to feedback to develop new tools which help customers to easily plan for their retirement.

By focusing on ease of use, full transparency on fees, and jargon-free communication, PensionBee has become one of the UK’s most trusted pension providers with a 95% customer retention rate and a 4.7/5.0 Excellent Trustpilot score.

Further information

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Millie Hyde-Smith

Director of PR and Content

Legal & General Retail

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Maddy Morgan-Williams

Lansons

T: +44 7947 364 578

Email Maddy Morgan-Williams

Notes to editors

Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management1 of which 40% is international. We have a unique and highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. Legal & General provides powerful asset origination and management capabilities directly to clients, which also underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions. We are a leading international player in Pension Risk Transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers and create value for our shareholders. Through inclusive capitalism, we are investing in long-term assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, that can help build a better society for the future.

1Data as at 31 December 2023.

Legal & General Retail Retirement’s mission is to help its customers lead longer, healthier, happier lives. We believe everyone should be able to have a ‘more colourful retirement’. The Division comprises the Group’s retirement savings and income, later life lending and care solutions businesses. In 2020, LGRR wrote £910 million of annuity premiums and issued £791 million of lifetime and retirement interest only mortgages.

*at 31 Jun 2021