* FY op profit up 10 pct to 1.28 bln stg vs f'cast 1.31 bln
* Bulk annuity sales double, individual sales halve
* Total dividend up 21 percent to 11.25p/shr
* Considers raising stake in Indian joint venture
* Shares down 3.5 pct, retreat from record high (Releads, adds U.S. management change, share price, ceo,analyst comment, India plans)
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Legal & General Plc onWednesday became the latest insurer to report a drop in demandfor personal annuities and growing reliance on sales tocompanies, as full-year profits just lagged forecasts to sendits shares lower.
The UK life insurance industry has been shaken by pensionreforms to be implemented next month, which allow retirees touse their pension pots as they choose rather than beingcompelled to buy an annuity giving an income for life.
L&G said sales of individual annuities fell 54 percent lastyear and it expected a further halving in 2015. But salesdoubled of "bulk" annuities, which transfer the risk of definedbenefit, or final salary, pension schemes from companies toinsurers.
L&G Chief Executive Nigel Wilson said he expected more tofollow. "You never meet a CFO who says 'boy, I'd like some morepension risk' - there's plenty of demand," he told reporters.
Annuity providers Just Retirement and PartnershipAssurance have also seen an increase in bulk annuity sales.
Ultra-low interest rates have led to record deficits indefined benefit schemes, which as a whole are only 78 percentfunded. Some industry specialists say more than 1 trillionpounds in UK defined benefit assets are ripe for transfer toinsurers, if the schemes can afford the insurancecosts.
Globally, around $10 trillion worth of liabilities could besubject to the same trend over the next couple of decades, L&Gsaid, citing industry estimates.
L&G's yearly operating profit rose 10 percent to 1.28billion pounds ($2 billion), short of the 1.31 billion averageforecast in a company-supplied poll of analysts.
L&G also appointed Gene Gilbertson as interim president ofits U.S. unit, replacing Jimmy Atkins who is leaving to pursueother interests after the unit suffered a more than 30 percentprofit drop.
L&G shares, which hit a record high on Tuesday, fell as muchas 5 percent and were down 3.5 percent by 1000 GMT.
"These results appear more an affirmation of previoustrends, rather than something to trigger estimate moves or are-rating event," analysts at Mirabaud said.
In India, Wilson said L&G was considering whether to raiseits stake in its insurance joint venture, but regulatoryconstraints meant it was also looking at other areas ofdevelopment, such as mobile phone insurance or fund management.
The company's total yearly dividend will raise 21 percent to11.25 pence per share.
($1 = 0.6519 pounds) (Editing by Sinead Cruise and David Holmes)
Legal & General (LGEN)