Gender no longer allowed to count for insurance and pensions.....

Insurers cannot charge different premiums to men and women because of their gender, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled today (1st March 2011). The decision means that women can no longer be charged lower car insurance premiums than men, and the cost of buying a pensions annuity will change. The change will come into effect in December 2012, although customers could see premiums alter in the interim.

•  Women aged under 25 could see car insurance costs rise by up to 25%
•  Men could see an 8% reduction in annuity rates, but women could see a 6% rise
•  The cost of life assurance could increase by 20% for women but fall by 10% for men
•  The ECJ decision will also affect the cost of buying an annuity - an annual pension income - as women live for longer than men and so receive a smaller annual pension for the same pot of money.
•  The insurance industry has warned that the change will lead to men receiving a smaller annuity income than they do now when their benefits are brought into line with those for women.
•  Pensions specialists say the ECJ decision can be considered as a "seismic event which will fundamentally reshape the retirement landscape" and some predict that annuity rates will equalise for men and women, at levels higher than female rates but "significantly worse" than current annuity rates for men.

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