Aegon's UK business has reported a £5m fall in earnings before tax for the final quarter of last year, which it said is the result of a £7m spend on technology including on a non-advised platform.
Earnings before tax for the group's UK business during the quarter were £18m, down from £23m in the previous quarter.
As a result of the dip, Aegon UK's pre-tax profits for the full year were down at £84m compared to £89m in 2012.
Net income for the year was £102m, down from £140m in 2012, led by a heavy drop in net income during the final quarter of last year to £2m, down from £88m in Q3.
Earnings from the UK life business increased 53% to £26m during the quarter, which Aegon said was driven by a one-time benefit from reserving changes for annuity products of £8m.
On the UK pensions side, earnings amounted to a loss of £9m, a hit Aegon said was due to a £7m spend on creating a digital capability for the non-advised client group in order to upgrade to the platform, and a one-time loss of £2m.
Aegon said it will launch its self-service platform aimed at non-advised clients some time in the first half of the year.
Platform assets continued to grow during the fourth quarter of 2013, reaching
£1.3bn by the end of 2013.
Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2013 increased 24% to £84m, as expenses related to investments in technology and business transformation costs of £20m were incurred, Aegon said.
