Canada Life has appointed Shreyas Sridhar as its new business development director for Bulk Purchase Annuities.
Shreyas has over 15 years of experience in the financial services sector, most recently at Legal and General as head of reinsurance & international development as part of their pension risk transfer business.
She will be reporting to Tim Coulson, managing director of the Bulk Purchase Annuities team.
Coulson says: “Shreyas brings a wealth of experience to this newly created role at Canada Life, and is a great addition to the team. We will continue to build resources and capability to seize opportunities in a buoyant bulk annuities market, and Shreyas will help us deliver on our ambition to become a market-leading provider of pension de-risking solutions.”
Sridhar says: “This is an exciting time to join a global company with an enviable heritage and a clearly stated ambition to drive significant growth in the bulk annuities space while being given the opportunity to make my mark very quickly in a new role.
“I’ve already been impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the team, and I look forward to working with trustees and other market participants as we continue to build our proposition to deliver outstanding outcomes for our clients and customers.”
Scottish Widows managing director – retirement Emma Watkins says: “As defined contribution pensions become the primary source of private retirement savings, recent volatile market conditions combined with a greater awareness of the higher annuity rates currently on offer have made annuities even more attractive, particularly in light of the cost of living squeeze and the trend for people to live longer”
“As a result, more individuals are seeking out the benefits of a secure and guaranteed income for life with last year being almost half as big again as 2022. Across 2023, this was driven by sustained increases in interest rates, which led to better deals on the annuity market and, as interest rates look to remain higher for longer, the attractiveness of annuities will remain.”
“For example, it is now possible for a 65-year-old to get £7,100 each year if they invest £100,000, compared with £5,500 just 12 months ago, providing much more optimistic and reliable income source for later life.”
