Legal & General Retail Retirement enters the Immediate Needs Annuity Market

A growing cohort of people can expect to use some form of long-term care during their lives. However, this area of financial planning often gets overlooked. Our research shows just five percent of people in care have sought financial advice and put a plan in place to make their money last.

Legal & General’s Lifetime Care Plan pays a lifetime guaranteed payment towards a person’s care, enabling care costs to be capped should someone live longer than expected. Payments made directly to a registered care provider are tax exempt. When setting up the plan, each case is individually underwritten using medical information collected via a form completed by the Care provider and, in rare cases, a GP’s report. However, this process can be slow, sometimes taking months before advisers receive quotes.

To improve the process, Legal & General is trialing a new approach to how the information used to generate quotes is collected. Instead of relying on postal forms, Legal & General will be conducting tele-interviews with care homes, with the aim to make the process much more efficient.

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.

Buying our Immediate NeedsAnnuity (INA) is a once-and-for-all decision. The options a customer selects when they buy the annuity cannot be changed later on. Depending how long they live for, the total income paid to the customer may be less than the amount used to buy the annuity.

The annuity cannot be cashed in or surrendered at any time.

For an INA, the customer needs to be over 60 years of age, currently receiving care, or they will require care when the Plan starts. The provision of care is expected to be permanent, until they die. The care received must be provided by a UK Registered Care Provider, either in the customer’s own home or in a care home.