LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdogpublished rules on Friday covering the sale of pensions ahead ofbig changes in the industry due to come into effect in April.
The shake-up, first announced by the government in Marchlast year, will give pensioners the freedom to spend theirpension savings as they choose. They will no longer have to buyan annuity, which provides a regular income for life.
The Financial Conduct Authority said companies sellingretirement products would have to provide "risk warnings" basedon an individual's circumstances so they could make an informedchoice about their pension.
The FCA advised pension providers to discuss theindividual's health and make customers aware of investment scamsin the risk warnings.
There have been a number of mis-selling scandals inBritain's financial services industry, including paymentprotection insurance and interest rate swaps.
The Association of British Insurers said this week that thegovernment and regulators were was not ready for the pensionschanges.
UK life insurers such as Aviva and Legal & General sell annuities and are looking to diversify into othertypes of pension, while fund managers are also lining up tooffer a bigger choice of retirement products.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn. Editing by Jane Merriman)