Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, on Monday reported a 13% growth in Workplace net fund flows of £5.3 billion in 2024, taking its Workplace assets under administration (AUA) to £66.5 billion. Standard Life said it wrote £5.1 billion of premiums in the year (FY 2023: £6.2bn) and has built a 12% market share of the Individual Annuity market.
Parent firm Phoenix Group reported that 2024 FRS adjusted operating profit increased 31% to £825 million “driven by profitable growth in both Pensions and Savings (£316m) (FY 2023: £190m) and Retirement Solutions (£474m) (FY 2023: £378m).”
The group’s shares rose as much as 9% on Monday.
Phoenix reported IFRS loss after tax of £1.078 billion (FY 2023: £84m profit) “primarily due to £(1,297)m of adverse economic variances as well as £520m of non-operating expenses, including planned investment.”
Phoenix said: “Economic variances reflected the accounting mismatch of our hedging programme which protects our cash and SII capital, and supports our progressive and sustainable dividend policy.”
The perent firm reported £1.403 billion Operating Cash Generation, up 22%, and £1.779 billion total cash generation “exceeding the top end of our 2024 £1.4-1.5bn target range.”
Phoenix upgraded its cash targets. “Total cash generation cumulative 3-year target increased from £4.4bn to £5.1bn across 2024-26 driven by the sustained growth in OCG,” said the group. “We therefore expect to generate excess cash of £1.1bn across 2024-26 and this will be allocated in accordance with our capital allocation framework, with a clear focus on deleveraging.”
Standard Life CEO Andy Curran said: “Our business continues to perform strongly across all metrics as we support customers with the ongoing shift in responsibility for their own retirement savings and income. We’ve delivered profitable growth, in both our Standard Life Pensions & Savings and Retirement Solutions businesses with IFRS operating profit up 66% and 25% respectively, while introducing new products and services to widen the appeal of Standard Life to both existing and new customers, as they navigate the journey to retirement and beyond.
“We have a unique competitive advantage in our markets with one-in-five adults already Phoenix Group customers. Over the last 12 months we have grown our presence in multiple markets by better supporting and engaging these customers to keep and consolidate their pension savings with Standard Life, while also attracting new ones, both directly and through advisers.
“We are especially pleased that our Workplace pension business has achieved a top three position in an extremely competitive marketplace. Net fund flows increased by 13% taking our Assets Under Administration to £66.5 billion supported by the addition of a further 100 schemes to our Workplace portfolio.
“Making pensions relevant remains a significant challenge for our industry. To help diversify the pension boards of tomorrow, we developed and launched a unique programme to identify and train non-pension industry employees as pensions trustees. The first intake to the Standard Life Trustee Accelerator Programme are now approaching the half way point in the two-year programme.
“We have also made strong progress in retail markets where we support financial advisers and customers directly, driving gross inflows upwards by 34% over the year to £5.1 billion. We know that customers want increased certainty, alongside flexibility and growth, when approaching or at retirement and the launch of our new Smoothed Return Pension Fund in May is helping to meet this need head on.
“Our customers are also set to benefit from the creation of Future Growth Capital, a new private markets investment manager in partnership with Schroders, which will unlock additional investment opportunities.
“Our inherently strong capability to offer competitive pricing, combined with the disciplined deployment of capital, produced a further £5.1 billion of Bulk Purchase Annuity premiums across the year within our DB Solutions business. This strategy helped us achieve a top-5 average position in the BPA market over the last three years in serving the needs of employers and trustees, who wish to derisk their pension scheme arrangements.
“Our re-entry into the Individual Annuity market in 2023 has rapidly gained momentum and a 12% market share. Our digital experience has been crucial in gaining customer trust, with 90% of annuity quotes produced in seconds. With in excess of 80% of people seeking a guaranteed income alongside flexibility, we quickly extended our annuity range, launching Standard Life Guaranteed Fixed-term Income in September, providing customers with a guaranteed income but with added flexibility to adapt their plans once the fixed-term period comes to an end.”
“While these numbers point to strong growth, we are acutely aware that the UK is facing into a retirement crisis. With only 1 in 7 UK adults saving enough for retirement and only 10% receiving financial advice, we continue to focus on engaging regulators and government to bring about change so people can save more when in work, but also secure better incomes when in retirement.”