The battle to win the hearts and minds of new retirees is hotting between some of the big name pension providers.
Aviva and LV= are going head-to-head to ready new investment and equity release products in the run up to the long-awaited Dilnot Report on the funding of care and support in England due next month.
The report is expected to promote equity release as vital funding for the retired.
Last week, Partnership, an equity release specialist, released an enhanced lifetime mortgage aimed at elderly homeowners with suffering from ill-health. The aim is to give better borrowing terms to those suffering from cancer, diabetes or smoking-related illnesses.
Now LV= and Aviva have flagged that they are considering the release of similar products in the wake of the Dilnot Report.
The announcement is causing a stir for equity release candidates and advisers because they do not know whether to take the offer from Partnership or hang on for a few weeks to see what other deals the big providers may table.
LV= is playing with cards close to the chest by indicating a ‘wait and see’ approach to Dilnot, while Aviva has recently rejigged equity release products by upping available cash for immediate drawdown to 100% of the sum available.
Aviva is also launching a new fixed-term annuity with the choice of investing in a guaranteed maturity value and a guaranteed fund.
The minimum investment is £30,000 and so long as £5,000 is put in each fund, investors can sink the balance in to both funds in any proportion they wish.
Depending on how the cash is invested, the funds are locked for five to 10 years. The annuity comes with built-in death benefits.
Aviva says the new annuity is aimed at the over 50s approaching retirement earning more than £50,000 a year with a pension fund of £50,000 to £100,000.
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