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Personal and Stakeholder Pensions - UK

Published by: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Published: Mar. 1, 2009


Table of Contents


ISSUES IN THE MARKET

Key issues

MARKET BACKGROUND AND DEFINITIONS

Pension based retirement planning

Figure 1: Types of private pension provision in the UK

Occupational schemes

Individual pensions

Group pensions

Benefit structures

Alternatively secured pensions

Other definitions

A-day

ABBREVIATIONS

MARKET IN BRIEF

New business down in 2008

Figure 2: New APE individual pension premiums, by product type, 2003-08

Demographic and economic drivers

Intended financial activity levels favourable to pensions business

Figure 3: Intended life and pensions activity, Q3/Q4 2002-Q4 200/Q1 2009

Internal market environment

Most new personal pension business generated through IFAs

Figure 4: New APE premiums into individual pensions, by type of pension and distribution channel,2008

Lloyds (Scottish Widows) tops market share table

KEY CONSUMER RESEARCH FINDINGS

Pension product ownership

Value and length of pension contributions

Attitudes towards saving in a pension

INTERNAL MARKET ENVIRONMENT

Key points

The decline of occupational pension provision…

Figure 5: Status of private and public sector schemes, 2007

… means more people will need to arrange their own pension

Personal Accounts set to arrive in 2012…

… with a number of potential effects

Affordability holds back many from investing in a pension

Figure 6: Reasons for not saving, June 2008

Indifference also holding the market back

Psychological barriers also exist

Past mis-steps have also discouraged greater pension uptake

FSA alleges that thousands may have been given wrong pension advice

Difficult-to-understand products make getting advice essential

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

The Retail Distribution Review

Clarity of services - independent advice vs sales advice

Customer agreed remuneration (CAR)

Raising professional standards for advisers

TREATING CUSTOMERS FAIRLY INITIATIVE

Industry reaction to TCF

MONEY GUIDANCE SERVICE - FOR GENERIC ADVICE

Protected rights funds now eligible for full SIPP investment

BROADER MARKET ENVIRONMENT

Key points

Improvements in longevity mean longer retirements

Figure 7: Cohort life expectancy at age 60, by gender, 1981-2054

More retirement years but less money to fund them

Figure 8: Average gross weekly income of pensioner units, by age, 2006/07

Old age dependency ratio will continue to rise

Figure 9: Projected size of the UK population, by age band, 2008-46

Over 8 out of 10 people above 50 still saving for retirement

An increasing number of people will be working beyond retirement age

Figure 10: UK Economic activity, by gender and age, 2002-10

Increased job mobility and lifestyle changes

Saving likely to be difficult for many in the near term

Poor stock market performance hurting confidence in pension saving

Inflationary pressure on pensions return and retirement income

CONSUMER CONTEXT

Key points

Saving and investment intentions on the rise

Figure 11: Savings, investment, borrowing and debt repayment - consumers’ expected activity,December 2007-December 2008

Over-65s to significantly increase financial activity levels

Figure 12: Expected financial activity, by socio-demographic and income groups, December 2008 and average for the last 27 quarters

Prospects for life and pension products improving

Figure 13: Intended life and pensions activity, Q3/Q4 2002-Q4 200/Q1 2009

Low equity investor sentiment

Figure 14: Intended purchases of shares and equity-based unit trusts, government and corporate bonds and bond-based unit trusts and sales of equities and unit trusts, Q3/Q4 2002-Q4/Q1 2009

Figure 15: Intended cash-based activities, Q3/Q4 2002-Q4/Q1 2009

COMPETITIVE CONTEXT

Key points

Consumers have many options when saving for retirement

Figure 16: Summary of retirement funding strategies

Workplace pension products are the direct competitors

Traditional occupational pension provision in decline

Figure 17: Number of private sector occupational pension schemes in the UK, by scheme size, 2002-07

Group pension and company stakeholder business has been brisk

Figure 18: New GPP and company-sponsored stakeholder pension premiums, 2003-08

Personal accounts a competitive threat

Non-pension alternatives

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN THE MARKET

Figure 19: Market for individual personal pensions - SWOT analysis, 2009

MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST

Key points

New business suffers in 2008

Figure 20: New individual pension premiums, by product type, 2003-08

New SIPP and GPP business has been driving the market forward

Lacklustre growth in existing business

Figure 21: Total number of policies and regular premiums from individual pensions business in force,by pension type, 2003-07

MARKET FORECAST

Prospects challenging over the near term

Figure 22: Forecast of new APE premiums into individual personal pensions, 2003-13

But there is some hope over the longer term

Factors used in the forecast

MARKET SHARE

Lloyds takes top spot and AEGON falls out of the top five

Figure 23: Ranking of individual pension providers, based on UK gross written premium, 2006 and 2007

Acquisitions have moved Swiss Re and Deutsche Bank up the table

Top occupational pension providers also active in personal pensions

COMPANIES AND PRODUCTS

KEY INDIVIDUAL PENSION PRODUCT PROVIDERS

Scottish Widows (Lloyds Banking Group)

Aviva plc (formerly Norwich Union)

Standard Life

AXA (AXA Life)

AEGON (Scottish Equitable)

KEY PLAYERS IN RETAIL BANKING ADVICE MARKET

Barclays Financial Planning

Lloyds Banking Group plc/Scottish Widows

BRAND COMMUNICATION AND PROMOTION

Key points

Pensions-related adspend up 41% over the past year

Figure 24: Pensions category advertising expenditure, by sub-category, year to December 2004-08..59

Top ten provider adspend reaches a five-year high

Figure 25: Advertising expenditure by the top ten pensions advertisers, year to December 2004-08

TV makes up 40% of total advertising adspend in 2008

Figure 26: Overview of media type used to advertise pensions-related products, year to December 2007-08

CHANNELS TO MARKET

Key points

Most new personal pension business driven by IFAs

EBCs are active in group pension sales

In 2008 four in five new individual pensions sales are via IFAs

Figure 27: New APE premiums into individual pensions, by distribution channel, 2003-08

INDIVIDUAL PENSION DISTRIBUTION - DETAILED BREAKDOWN

Tied agents have gained a greater share of personal pensions business

Figure 28: Proportional distribution of new APE premiums into personal pensions, by distribution channel, 2003-08

IFAs play a key role in GPP distribution

Figure 29: Proportional distribution of new APE premiums into GPPs, by distribution channel, 2003-08


Bancassurance plays a key role in individual stakeholder distribution

Figure 30: Proportional distribution of new APE premiums into individual stakeholder pensions, by distribution channel, 2003-08

Most company-sponsored stakeholder pensions sold through IFAs

Figure 31: Proportional distribution of new APE premiums into company sponsored stakeholder pensions, by distribution channel, 2003-08

IFAs generated 89% of new SIPP business in 2008

Figure 32: Proportional distribution of new APE premiums into SIPPs, by distribution channel, 2003-08


THE CONSUMER - PENSION PRODUCT OWNERSHIP

Key points

One in seven saving in an personal pension

Figure 33: Ownership of pension products, by type, January 2009

Multiple pension ownership = opportunity for consolidation

Figure 34: Ownership of pension products and retirement savings - cross-analysis, January 2009

Personal pension ownership peaks at the third age lifestage

Figure 35: Type of pension owned, by gender, age, lifestage and marital status, January 2009

Personal pension ownership skewed toward the affluent

Figure 36: Type of pension owned, by socio-economic group, working status, gross annual household income, TV region and household tenure, January 2009

Opportunity to move supplemental savings into a pension

Pension ownership and media and technology usage

Figure 37: Type of pension owned. by daily newspaper readership, technology usage, internet usage frequency and web usage, January 2009

THE CONSUMER - VALUE AND LENGTH OF PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS

Key points

Over one in seven paying in £300 or more into a personal pension

Figure 38: Monthly pension contributions, by type of pension, January 2009

Value of contributions tend to rise with age

Figure 39: Monthly pension contributions by gender, age, lifestage and marital status, January 2009.78

As expected wealthy contribute most to pension pots

Figure 40: Monthly pension contributions by socio-economic group, working status, gross annual household income, TV region and household tenure, January 2009

44% of those with a mortgage contributing £100 a month or more

Media and technology usage and pension contribution levels

Figure 41: Monthly pension contributions by daily newspaper readership, technology usage, internet usage frequency and web usage, January 2009

A case for online pensions?

58% of personal pension holders contributing for over ten years

Figure 42: Number of years making pension contributions, by type of pension, January 2009

Contributing more and for longer

Figure 43: Number of years making pension contributions, by value of contributions, January 2009

Some have left pension savings dangerously late

Figure 44: Number of years making pension contributions, by age, January 2009

Affluent have been contributing the longest

Figure 45: Number of years making pension contributions, by gross annual household income, January 2009

APPENDIX - THE CONSUMER: VALUE AND LENGTH OF PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS

Figure 46: Number of years making pension contributions, by gender, age, lifestage and marital status,January 2009

Figure 47: Number of years making pension contributions by socio-economic group, working status,gross annual household income, TV region and household tenure, January 2009

Figure 48: Number of years making pension contributions by daily newspaper readership, technology usage, internet usage frequency and web usage, January 2009

APPENDIX: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Abstract

Personal and Stakeholder Pensions in the shadow of the SIPP

After several years of solid growth the personal pension market, along with most of the financial services industry, has experienced a slowdown in 2008. Naturally, the current economic environment is a major contributing factor to the recent slowdown. Many people are focusing on more immediate issues such as paying down debt or preparing for the prospect of unemployment, rather than saving for retirement. Other more persistent issues, however, such as negative publicity, frequent regulatory changes, as well as consumer apathy or a preference for alternative investments, have also been holding the market back.

On the other hand, although near term prospects remain challenging, longer term economic and demographic trends are much more favourable for the personal pension industry. The UK population is ageing rapidly and considerable improvements in longevity mean that people will increasingly be spending more time in retirement. Furthermore, just as people are finding they will need to save more money to ensure a comfortable retirement, there has been a progressive decline in both state and occupational pension provision. As a result, more of the burden of saving for retirement has been placed on the individuals themselves - which means demand for personal pension products should rise over the long term.

This report presents an overview of the key issues facing the individual personal pension market in the UK. In addition to examining the wider economic, demographic and regulatory environment, the report details the value of new business and takes a look at the competitive landscape. The report also highlights market strengths and weaknesses and identifies potential market opportunities and threats. The final section of the report presents the findings of Mintel’s exclusive consumer research survey. Here the reader is provided with valuable insight into the attitudes and behaviours of UK consumers towards personal pensions.

Key issues

  • Difficult economic conditions have hurt demand for individual pension products in the past year.
  • Lack of affordability, as well as unawareness, apathy and distrust of pension’s industry are additional factors currently holding the market back.
  • Some consumers prefer to save for retirement outside of a pension.
  • The launch of Personal Accounts in 2012 poses a competitive threat at the lower end of the market.
  • Products such as SIPPs are difficult for consumers to understand and only appeal to a narrow slice of the population.
  • The RDR as well as the TCF initiative are likely to have an impact on future pension product design and could make selling personal pensions more difficult in the near term.
  • Longer term demographic and social trends are encouraging (i.e. a gradually older and more affluent population, declining occupational and state pension provision, increased job mobility).



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