Partnership profits drop 50% to £64m after annuities shock

Profits at Partnership Assurance dropped 51% to £64m in 2014 due to falling individual annuity sales in the wake of the Budget reforms, latest results show.

Profits at the enhanced annuity specialist stood at £131m last year. Individual annuity sales dropped 57% to £466m in 2014 following the announcement of pensions freedom in the Budget. Full year results for the business said while individual business had been affected bulk annuity sales saw a threefold increase to £247m. These contracts remove risk from defined benefit pension schemes. It reported a 15% increase in the sale of care annuities to £76m following an “intensive adviser education campaign”. Operating profit had been forecast to reach £61m but the firm beat that pr...