Now that the election is over, the phoney war is finished and the real war to reduce the huge level of government debt begins. With a hung parliament we can expect uncertainty and volatility in both equity and bond markets. Many commentators are predicting a fall in bond yields and in equity prices, the so called 'double-whammy' for retired investors.

2009 will be remembered as the year of the “Annuity Crunch” writes Billy Burrows

Whilst the jury is still out on whether quantitative easing will fuel economic recovery or lead to economic misery, annuity easing has already with us writes Billy Burrows

I have just published the latest edition of my newsletter, Countdown to Retirement. Read the newsletter as a pdf

The November 2008 newsletter from William Burrows Annuities - Annuities heads south as credit crunch impacts annuity market. View this newsletter as a pdf

Last Thursday the Bank of England made a dramatic 1 1/2 percentage point cut in UK interest rates. The bank rate is now 3%, the lowest level since 1955. At fist sight it might seem than this will result in a similar cut in annuity rates, but on closer inspection, it seems that although annuities are set to fall, the cut may not be too dramatic.