Covid-19 puts brakes on DB pension transfer activity – XPS
The coronavirus crisis has put the brakes on pension transfer activity, as the number of members taking a transfer value fell to a record low in April, according to data from XPS Pensions Group. XPS’s...
View ArticleChris Read: Childlike thinking doesn’t have to be childish
If dopamine could be bottled, I would have it in my tea. It’s very satisfying. It’s your body rewarding you for positive experiences. Research has found there to be a link between dopamine and...
View ArticleRP case studies: Getting to grips with pension sharing orders
The situation Julia Jones (47) has recently dissolved her civil partnership with her ex-partner Sara (56). A pension sharing order formed part of the split, giving Julia a pension credit of £250,000...
View ArticleMore providers to follow in Liberty SIPP’s footsteps of failure – solicitor
More self-invested personal pension (SIPP) firms will fail as part of a domino effect started by the collapse of Liberty SIPP, where firms accepted non-standard investments within a pensions wrapper...
View ArticleNeil MacGillivray: The post-pandemic financial malaise
The Office of Budget Responsibility estimates the costs of a three-month lockdown to fund the likes of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, business grants and...
View ArticleFOS defends approach to SIPP complaints following Carey Pensions ruling
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has defended its approach to SIPP complaints following the long-awaited Carey Pensions ruling. On Monday (18 May), Carey Pensions – now named Options Pensions –...
View ArticleJudge sides with SIPP provider Carey Pensions in long-awaited landmark case
Carey Pensions has won an ongoing legal battle against former client Russell Adams, with Adams’ claims dismissed on all grounds. The judgment was handed down on Monday morning (18 May) and related to a...
View ArticleCarey Pensions case could be appealed: What happens now?
Earlier this week Carey Pensions, which has since rebranded to Options Pensions, won its lengthy legal fight with former client Russell Adams, with Adams’ claims dismissed on all grounds. Options...
View ArticleIFS questions whether auto-enrolment is too successful for financially...
Thousands of the country’s most financially insecure individuals are remaining in auto-enrolled schemes even if it may not be in their best interests to do so, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)...
View ArticleChris Read: Follow the arrows to ‘new normal’ in the office
The Island of Despair is not the new normal name for the UK but was the shipwrecked home for Robinson Crusoe where he spent 28 years in isolation. Authored by Daniel Defoe in 1719 he is no stranger to...
View ArticleDC schemes show Covid-19 recovery trend
Defined contribution (DC) pensions are showing positive signs of market recovery after dramatic falls in the number of expected retirements this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Hymans...
View ArticleESG-conscious Nest members neglecting pensions
Nest members are making changes to their everyday lives to be more environmentally or socially responsible, but failing to take the same action on their pensions, the provider says. Over half of...
View ArticleTom Selby: Govt must halt MPAA amid Covid-19 crisis
We have already seen the government take a pragmatic and sensible decision to help younger investors. Earlier this month, the Treasury confirmed it would temporarily reduce the Lifetime ISA (LISA)...
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Chris Read: Helping the next ‘Lost Generation’
“A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts breathing dreams like air…” from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who emerged as a celebrated American author of what became known...
View ArticleCraig Muir: Could you use a pension to offset ISA losses?
We live in unprecedented times, as I write this President Trump is suggesting UV light and disinfectant to kill Covid 19… Investment markets have fallen, workers have been furloughed and many are...
View ArticleWhat does the Carey Pensions judgement mean for SIPPs?
To recap, the claim centres around Mr Adams’ transfer of his existing FriendsLife personal pension, on an execution-only basis, into a Carey SIPP. Almost all of the £56,000 transfer value was used to...
View ArticleChris Read: Zooming back to the office?
How often do you find yourself when asked: “how are you coping …?”, responding stoically with an “I’m alright, could be worse” and a shrug of the shoulders. Into week 12 of lockdown, I am tired of...
View ArticleFCA bans contingent charging on DB transfers
The Financial Conduct Authority has banned the use of contingent charging in defined benefit (DB) transfer advice. In a policy statement issued on Friday (5 June), the regulator said the ban will...
View ArticleMore than 700 adviser firms quit pension transfer market during FCA probe
More than 700 adviser firms advice firms relinquished their defined benefit (DB) transfer permissions during the regulator’s probe into the market. In an update published on Friday morning (5 June),...
View ArticleFCA contingent charging ban dubbed ‘draconian’
Some advisers have described the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ban on contingent charging for defined benefit (DB) transfers as a ‘draconian’ measure that could lead to less advice being given to...
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