A raft of new workplace pension scheme employers and more than 120,000 new workplace pension customers contributed to an increase in operating profit of 16 per cent for Royal London in the first half of 2023, the mutual insurer announced today.

Overall, Royal London saw an increase in net inflows of 25 per cent, or more than £3.2bn.

Royal London said it had welcomed 479 new workplace pension scheme employers and 120,000 new workplace pension customers. The organisation also acquired Aegon UK’s closed individual protection book of over 400,000 policies, taking Royal London’s number of protection policies to over 1.5 million.

Royal London group chief executive Barry O’Dwyer said: “In the first half of 2023 we delivered good growth in workplace pensions new business and our net inflows increased 25 per cent to over £3.2bn.

"This growth, alongside our continued cost discipline, has helped to deliver a 16 per cent increase in operating profit.”

Commenting on the FCA’s new Consumer Duty, introduced at the end of July, Royal London said its “existing alignment with the principles” meant it had been able to adapt to meet the new obligations, “while taking steps to help financial advisers embed the Consumer Duty in their business practices.”

In particular, the organisation said it had “supported financial advisers in meeting their Consumer Duty requirements through a dedicated online hub, interactive webinars and account support.”

“As many of our customers continue to come to terms with the increased cost of living and higher interest rates, our priority has been to help them navigate these challenges, while building their long-term financial resilience,” said O’Dwyer.

Among initiatives supporting this resilience was the addition of a state benefits calculator to its financial wellbeing health check service, the mutual said. The calculator is designed to help customers identify potential eligibility for benefits, entitlements and grants.

Royal London also confirmed that it had shared £155m in ProfitShare with over two million members in April; its new workplace pensions customers will be eligible ProfitShare allocations in the future.

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