This membership demonstrates Just Retirement’s commitment to achieving the best possible financial outcome for retirees by working within PICA to create an industry solution to help customers actively shop around to find the best retirement income solution.
Stephen Lowe, director of Just Retirement, will sit on PICA’s management board alongside representatives from LV=, MGM Advantage, Partnership, Fidelity, Living Time, Hargreaves Lansdown and Bluefin Group.
PICA is a membership-funded group set up in July 2009, representing product providers, IFAs and EBCs in the annuities and retirement market. It has been established to raise the importance of retirees’ right to shop around to ensure they receive the best possible retirement income. The association is lobbying government to make shopping around the default option for investors as currently many pensioners are left with less retirement income than they are entitled to, due to the failure of the current Open Market Option process.
Alongside PICA, Just Retirement believes that the default option should be for everyone to review their options at retirement and actively shop around. Commenting on the membership, Stephen Lowe, external affairs director and management board member of PICA, said: “Just Retirement is pleased to join the board of PICA and provide its support to improving the retirement process for customers. Choosing the right retirement income solution is one of the most important financial decisions retirees face. We are committed to ensuring all customers get the opportunity to shop around to help improve their chances of selecting the best retirement income solution to meet their needs.”
Tom McPhail, chairman of PICA, said: “The support of Just Retirement for PICA’s campaign to reform the OMO system further highlights the importance of raising awareness of retirement income options and enabling thousands of retirees to benefit from higher retirement incomes and more appropriate retirement income solutions. Just Retirement has been a strong campaigner to reform the OMO regime and we welcome them to our management board.”
