Why we are exiting annuities: Milton Jennings

By the end of this year, there will be no New Zealand providers offering annuities, and one academic says it’s a serious problem.

The current sole provider, Fidelity Life, is to stop offering annuities due to lack of demand and increasing regulatory pressure.

Chief executive Milton Jennings told the Future of Super conference in Auckland yesterday that the company had only given out 12 quotes over the past year – and the one annuity product sold was to a 95-year-old planning to try to outlive the company’s longevity predictions.

“There’s low demand for annuities in the New Zealand market.”