Adrian Boulding: Go against the pack and consider an annuity
If you recommend income drawdown for your client then you will be in good company. The latest data from the FCA for the year to March 2020, shows that annuity sales continue their steady decline, with...
View ArticleRachel Vahey: Three good things for better pension understanding
There is no doubt automatic enrolment has been a massive success. It has turned us from a nation of non-savers, to one that is storing at least some money away for retirement. But that doesn’t mean...
View ArticlePension Schemes Bill gains House of Lords approval
The Pension Schemes Bill has been approved by the House of Lords and should gain royal assent shortly. The completion of its final stage in the parliamentary process comes just over a year after being...
View ArticleFailed Liberty SIPP racks up almost 1,700 FSCS claims
Collapsed self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provider Liberty SIPP has received 1,696 claims against it, according to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). According to a note...
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Neil MacGillivray: Almost six years on from pensions freedom
It has been almost six years since pensions freedom came into effect, writes Neil MacGillivray, and advisers’ jobs are more important than ever From the outset SIPPs were considered as a means of...
View ArticlePension advice allowance ‘too low’– Guy Opperman
The £500 pension advice allowance (PAA) is too low to achieve good outcomes for consumers and should be increased, the pensions minister has said. Speaking at Work and Pensions Committee hearing on 27...
View ArticleChris Read: As one door closes another one opens
Scottish born Alexander Graham Bell, noted for inventing the telephone and founding what became AT&T (the American Telephone and Telegraph Company), is also noted for the phrase: “As one door...
View ArticleSingle-day pension transfers rise but average completion time dips – Origo
More than £2bn in pension transfers was completed within a single day last year but the average length of time to complete a retirement fund shift marginally increased to 11.9 days, data from Origo...
View ArticleAdrian Boulding: Helping Gen X clients boost ‘bleak’ pension prospects
Catching up on some reading over the break, I spotted the new International Longevity Centre’s (ILC) study entitled Forgotten Generation? Retirement Income Prospects of Generation X. The ILC’s...
View ArticleRP case studies: Structuring income for SSAS retirees
Sally and Michael have been members and trustees of their limited company’s small self-administered scheme (SSAS) for many years. During those years, the SSAS trustees have made a wide range of...
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Chris Jones: Challenging retirement income decisions
If I was stranded on a remote island. I would be pleased to find that I had some chickens. After a while, though I would have to make some difficult decisions; eventually the chickens will die and so...
View ArticleDon’t look VAT in anger: Is the MPS trend here to stay?
Over the past 12 months, DFMs throughout the UK have been removing VAT from their model portfolio services (MPS). This is an industry-wide trend and, according to NextWealth research from December...
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Aviva overhauls declining advice proposition
Aviva Financial Advice is “absolutely committed” to the sector despite fluctuating adviser numbers since its inception in 2016 and a full-scale strategic review which refocused the business, its...
View ArticleGary Kershaw: Inside the DB pension transfer market
The DB pension transfer market seems to be in a situation where consumer demand is increasing but the number of advisers able – and willing – to conduct this type of business is shrinking. So, how do...
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Neil MacGillivray: Assessing the tapered annual allowance before tax year end
As we approach the end of the tax year, we are receiving quite a number of queries on tapering of the annual allowance (AA) and how it affects high income individuals, so I thought it would be worth...
View ArticleJustin Corliss: Why are drawdown transfers few and far between?
The question of why don’t we see more transfers in drawdown is coming up more and more. Advisers switch clients from one personal pension to another, either as the client’s needs and objectives alter,...
View ArticleFCA starts High Court action over DB transfer advice failings
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started High Court proceedings against Paul Steel and Jacqueline Foster, directors of a failed advice firm, over alleged unsuitable defined benefit (DB)...
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Chris Read: The Covid-19 Divine Comedy
Born 1265 in Florence, Dante Alighieri depicted a journey through hell, via purgatory and then ultimately into heaven or paradise in the poem the Divine Comedy. If Dante were here today writing the...
View ArticleCharlene Young: Block transfers – 15 years on
The start of the new tax year also marks the 15th anniversary of pensions A-Day. One concept introduced by pensions simplification was the block transfer. Originally a block transfer was supposed to...
View ArticleGovt plans to raise minimum pension age to 57
The minimum pension age is set to increase to 57 under plans unveiled in a government consultation today (11 February). At present, people aged 55 can access their retirement funds but the age limit...
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