Insurer Standard Life has reported a strong start to the year in Ireland with first quarter sales up 40 per cent to €318 million.

The company, which manages over €7 billion in assets for Irish pension and investment companies, said net flows more than doubled from €72 million to €178 million on an annual basis.

Sales of investment-only corporate pension business rose 59 per cent to €127million, with strong premium flows into GARS (Global Absolute Return Strategies) Fund, Standard Life’s top selling investment fund.

The company also said that personal pension sales increased by 33 per cent during the quarter while post-retirement Approved Retirement Fund (ARFS) grew by 34 per cent.

Standard Life's head of marketing for Ireland Brendan Barr said near-zero deposit rates were continuing to encourage people to switch from deposits into longer term investments.

The group said UK annuity sales fell 50 per cent in the weeks after the British government unveiled budget measures that scrapped rules forcing retirees to buy such products.

The company said customers in the UK with pension savings of less than £10,000 had decided to immediately withdraw all of their money, while retirees with larger sums had deferred until the new rules come into effect next year.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne last month in his 2014 budget scrapped rules that pushed retirees to buy an annuity, allowing them to withdraw pension savings without paying a 55 per cent tax. The move erased about £3.6 billion off the market value of British insurers, including Standard Life.

Chief executive David Nish said the Edinburgh-based company was "well positioned" for the changes announced, with a product that allows a gradual draw down of savings expected to benefit the most. That product currently has about £10 billion in assets under administration.

Additional reporting: Reuters