Royal London sees 68% rise in intermediary pension sales

Intermediary group pension sales rose 12% to £4.3bn and protection sales increased by 25% to £807m.

The firm's consumer new business sales were up by 36% to £408m, driven by a rise in over 50s protection sales and partnerships with the Post Office and CYBG.

Overall, Royal London's pre-tax profits rose by 17% to £329m.

Phil Loney, group chief executive of Royal London, said: “The backdrop to much of our business is the political agenda for longer term saving. The pensions landscape has seen revolutionary and largely positive changes, but more can be done to deliver real consumer benefits. Auto-enrolment has enabled millions of people to contribute to a private pension for the first time, but the Government’s 8% combined contribution target is only a starting point and contributions need to be increased further over time. The Government also needs to widen the net to bring in self-employed people.

“However, there is one area where we need stability. Pensions tax relief has been subject to no less than six cuts in the last seven years and we are asking the Government to commit to a five year moratorium on further changes. This would help to support consumer confidence in pensions just at the time that employer and employee contribution rates are set to increase as part of the auto-enrolment project.

“We continue to work closely with Government on the development of the Pensions Dashboard, a potential game-changer for consumers. Government should drive the initiative forward, making it compulsory for all schemes and pension providers to supply data that will inform consumer choice.”