Legal & General says it has no intention of changing its annuity pricing in anticipation of the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) sex discrimination ruling on 1 March.

Rival providers Living Time and Canada Life have already moved to reprice ahead of the ruling, but L&G has confirmed it will not take pre-emptive action until it hears the findings from the ECJ.

Tim Gosden, head of product development for Legal & General’s annuities division said he is confident that the business will continue to write good levels of business without repricing.

He explained, ‘We are writing business now and we will be writing business on 1 March. Nobody knows what is going to happen.

'Some companies want to take pre-emptive action but you won’t know until the day. We are waiting to see what the judgement says.’

Gosden says the group’s focus remains on longer-term initiatives such as new products that could be brought to market.

He added, ‘We are still exploring an investment-linked annuity. Annuities are going to continue to be around and will still be a great product for consumers.

'Offering a guarantee for life at a time when life expectancy is increasing means annuities will still be there.’

Gosden says that L&G’s focus is now on increasing business coming through on its enhanced products through a combination of pricing and service-driven initiatives.