The government’s plans to introduce a secondary annuities market for pensioners have been cancelled.

Secondary annuities were first announced in Budget 2015 and were set for introduction in April 2017.

The plans have been cancelled due to a perceived inability to create a competitive market while having sufficient consumer protections. Another factor cited was an insufficient amount of purchasers to create a competitive market.

In a press release on the government website, HMRC stated:

“Consumer protection is a top priority for the government and we are not willing to allow a market to develop which could produce poor outcomes for consumers, such as receiving poor value for their annuity income stream and suffering higher costs.”

Simon Kirby, economic secretary to the Treasury, said:

“Allowing consumers to sell on their annuity income was always dependent on balancing the creation of an effective market with making sure consumers are properly protected.

“It has become clear that we cannot guarantee consumers will get good value for money in a market that is likely to be small and limited.”