about us

The Annuity Provider Forum

The Annuity Provider Forum is a group of annuity providers working towards the standardisation and streamlining of certain processes within the annuity sector, with the aim of improving customer experience and ensuring that customers have the opportunity to maximise their income in retirement.

Annuity Exchange

The Annuity Exchange produced the market's first comparative annuity portal, ‘whatannuity’, back in 2002. Since then, the company has gained a reputation for innovative software developments and processes within the retirement sector. The Annuity Exchange was appointed by The Annuity Provider Forum to develop, build and run this website.

Criterion

Criterion is the not-for-profit body that delivers professional standards and governance services for the UK’s Financial Services industry and its customers. Criterion is uniquely positioned to facilitate and drive cross-industry engagement, helping organisations achieve higher levels of collaboration, reduce costs and achieve better outcomes for their customers.

Uninhibited collaboration

Criterion’s independent Board of Directors and management team drive an uninhibited approach to collaboration and problem solving, bringing comprehensive understanding, fresh perspective and connected thinking for the benefit of all stakeholders. As a not for profit, there is not the distraction of a profit driver. Criterion focuses on improving and integrating processes that deliver real benefit to the consumer.

Having built long and trusted relationships over decades with providers, platforms, schemes, third-party administrators, industry bodies, regulators and Government, Criterion’s deep experience delivers unconstrained thinking and a capability able to gain consensus, adoption and deployment of customer-focused solutions.

The brand-new company with the 28-year track record

• Criterion was launched on 12th June 2017, but its team has been delivering professional standards and governance since 1989.
• It is relied on by around 400 companies to deliver standards underpinning millions of mission-critical transactions every week.
  • Includes Platform providers with combined assets under administration of over £400bn.
  • And 100% of the FTSE 100 Life Insurance sector, 100% of FTSE 250 Life Insurance sector and more than 95 leading pension brands across providers of SIPPs, Platforms and third-party administration services.
• Criterion Common Declarations have supported more than 2.2 million pension transfers, worth more than £110bn – and counting.