Individual annuity sales have continued to plummet a UK insurer Legal & General following George Osborne's budget announcement back in March that “no one will have to buy an annuity.”

Individual annuity sales have continued to plummet a UK insurer Legal & General following George Osborne's budget announcement back in March that “no one will have to buy an annuity.”

Sales were down 51 per cent during the third quarter at £125 million ($200 million) compared to the same period last year and have fallen 53 per cent for the year so far.

As a result L&G has now shifted its focus to workplace saving and bulk annuity deals, which take on liabilities from company pension schemes, chief executive Nigel Wilson said.

“The financial engine for LGR [Legal & General Retirement] will be the bulk market,” he said.

And bulk annuity sales have been strong, increasing 29 per cent to £3.4 billion in the third quarter, compared with £2.6 billion a year ago.

Total annuity assets at Legal and General increased by 16 per cent over the quarter to £39.9 billion, up from £34.5 billion on the same period in 2013.

Meanwhile net cash generation was up 12 per cent to £827 million compared with £740 million a year earlier. At the same time assets under management rose 14 per cent from a year ago to £676 billion.

“We remain confident in our ability to deliver economically and socially useful products for our customers and strong and sustainable growth for our shareholders. Recent market volatility is a reminder of the on-going market uncertainty that still exists and while no model can be completely immunised, we believe our strategy creates a high degree of resilience,” added Wilson.