Pension Schemes Act 2021 becomes law
Enhanced criminal and civil sanctions for defined benefit (DB) scheme negligence have become law after the Pension Schemes Act 2021 gained its place on the statute book. Over a year after first being...
View ArticlePension scam ‘red flags’ dip after 2020 record high – XPS
Two-thirds (60%) of defined benefit (DB) pension transfers triggered a ‘red flag’ warning for potential fraud or scams last month but the figure was down from December’s record-high, data from XPS...
View ArticleGareth James: Grasping the higher rate tax relief nettle
The framing of the debate around the fairness of higher rate tax relief always tends to focus on the favourable position of high earners in defined contribution (DC) schemes receiving higher rate...
View ArticleHenry Cobbe: Retirement in focus – pathways, PROD and proposition
The conclusion of the Retirement Outcomes Review for non-advised customers is set out in the regulator’s Policy Statement PS19/21. The key change is the introduction of mandatory highly governed...
View ArticleJessica List: What do pensions and pancakes have in common?
With Shrove Tuesday arrive the annual arguments about the best pancakes: should they be crêpe style or fluffy? Served with sweet or savoury toppings? At which meal (or meals) of the day should the...
View ArticleHow would a higher minimum pension age change retirement planning?
In its consultation, the Treasury said raising the minimum pension age to 57 could “encourage individuals to save longer for their retirement” and help ensure people have financial security in later...
View ArticlePhoenix buys Standard Life brand
Phoenix has bought the Standard Life brand from Standard Life Aberdeen as part of another wide-ranging deal between the two financial giants. This latest move is an acceleration of the strategic...
View ArticleAdrian Boulding: Five key post-Covid client needs
Every day we hear that the numbers vaccinated have increased, both here and around the world. These numbers have set us on a roadmap out of lockdown with the PM’s latest announcement just yesterday....
View ArticleMark Devlin: Pension contributions and relevant income explained
2020 was a year in which many people had to, for many different reasons, revisit their finances and where the value of seeking financial advice came to the fore. With tax year-end now on the horizon,...
View ArticleChris Read: Applying the Stockdale Paradox to lockdown life
‘Safety Last!’ is a 1923 Hollywood silent film starring the great Harold Lloyd. This is the film containing the famous image of Harold Lloyd clutching the hands of a clock dangling on a skyscraper....
View ArticleGail Izat: Over 50s financial wellness during tumultuous times
Life has been turned on its head over the last 12 months, with people recalibrating their lives and having to make decisions that would have been unthinkable less than a year earlier. Some people aged...
View ArticleChancellor Sunak ‘likely’ to freeze lifetime allowance – reports
Rishi Sunak has plans to freeze the lifetime allowance for the rest of the current parliament in a “stealth tax” on the wealthy, according to The Times. The allowance freeze will raise £250m a year,...
View ArticleColin Simmons: Putting lockdown savings to tax-efficient use
As we continue to adapt to living and working with Covid-19 and come to terms with the restrictions placed on us, it is perhaps an opportunity to consider how we can support our clients to prepare for...
View ArticleNeil MacGillivray: Riding to the rescue after triggering the MPAA
The recent finding by the Financial Ombudsman Service in favour of a client who triggered the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) and subsequently incurred a tax liability due to the pension advice...
View Article‘Back to the drawing board’: Decumulation guidance not working
Three-quarters of pension scheme members want guidance before drawing down on their pension pot but current client options are “not working”, according to The People’s Pension. In a poll of 2,116...
View ArticleSpring Budget 2021: Sunak freezes lifetime allowance
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has frozen the lifetime allowance (LTA) for pension contributions at just over £1m for the remainder of this Parliament. The Chancellor said the LTA would remain at its current...
View ArticleSpring Budget 2021: Ten key takeaways for advisers
On Wednesday (3 March), Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered the Spring budget, outlining what he has planned as we start to come out of lockdown while proposing what he intends to...
View ArticleLTA freeze: Rishi Sunak sends ‘wrong message’ to pension savers
Rishi Sunak’s decision to freeze the lifetime allowance (LTA) for pension contributions has been widely criticised by pensions experts who say the move sends the “wrong message” to savers. Sunak...
View ArticleKay Ingram: Sunak’s LTA freeze creates ‘bizarre disincentive’
Pre-Budget rumours that tax relief on pension savings would be reduced to a standard rate, rather than the more generous marginal income tax rate of 40p or 45p in the pound did not surface in Sunak’s...
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Adrian Boulding: Tech is real hero in pension charge disclosure story
In his ministerial foreword to the recent DWP paper on Standardised Cost Disclosure, pensions minister Guy Opperman pledges “to make it as easy as possible for pension savers to have access to...
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