Male pensioners will see their annuity payments reduced by up to £10,000 over their lifetime as a result of the EU Gender Directive, PwC has predicted.

From 21 December, the EU Gender Directive will remove price differences between men and women on insurance products. PwC calculated the £10,000 annuity reduction for male pensioners, as a result of the directive, using ABI’s decrease for male annuitants expectations, price comparison data on male annual annuity payments based on a £100k premium size, National Statistics' number of years expected to live and factored in allowance for future investment returns.

PwC head of pensions consulting Raj Mody said: “While a small number of women will be better off from the ruling, eight out of 10 annuities currently sold in the UK are bought by men, so many more people risk losing out than gaining. Women who are beneficiaries of joint life annuities purchased by their male partner will also be affected as they will end up with a lower income.”

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