UK retirees are holding out for higher interest rates, pushing annuity sales lower, reports the Financial Times.
Last year, British insurance companies sold 67,000 fewer annuities than the year before, a drop of 16%.
Read: Last year’s tax traps
The UK industry has been criticized as disorderly by the Financial Conduct Authority, which also said consumers aren’t shop around enough before making a purchase, the Times reports.
Industry experts say demographics—there were fewer 65-year-olds in Britain last year—as well as exceptional sales in 2012 and changes to regulation, are also affecting sales prices.
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