Steve Webb: Why DWP is paying out £3bn to women after state pension errors
Advisers will be familiar with the complexity of the private pension system, but coming up fast on its heels for complexity is the state pension system, and particularly the ‘old’ state pension system...
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George Stainton: Pension transfers and overseas clients
The Financial Conduct Authority recently reported that between 2018 to 2020 advice was sought regarding £30.3bn of defined benefit (DB) pensions. Of this, £20.1bn was advised to transfer out of the...
View ArticleJames Hay sells SSAS book to Westbridge
James Hay has sold its closed book of small self-administered schemes (SSAS) to Westbridge SSAS for an undisclosed sum. James Hay, which last month bought rival platform Nucleus for £145m, said the...
View ArticleStephen McPhillips: Is Benjamin Franklin still on the money?
There can’t be many sayings that have stood the test of time as well as that of Benjamin Franklin back in 1789 when he stated in a letter “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death...
View ArticleChris Read: Business lessons from Aesop’s Fables
Ben Edwin Perry was a professor of classics at the University of Illinois in the middle part of the 20th century. He is accredited with inventing the Perry Index, a reference system for Aesop’s Fables...
View ArticleGareth James: Will NMPA jump to 57 leave us in a pickle?
In 2014, the government confirmed its intent to increase the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) to 57 from April 2028. The aim being that NMPA should remain approximately 10 years below the state...
View ArticleInto the ashes: An in-depth look at Phoenix and Standard Life
The latest strategic manoeuvre by traditionally low-profile and closed book consolidator Phoenix Group has ignited considerable interest in the financial services industry after the announcement of a...
View ArticleRP case studies: SSAS and commercial property
Alan and Pete operated a business installing cats-eyes in roads and motorways. The company owned its property which it used both for storage of stock and equipment and as an office. It let part of the...
View ArticleEmployee DC contributions drop 11% amid pandemic pressures
Defined contribution (DC) contributions were scaled back by 11% in the second quarter of 2020 as the impact of the pandemic set in, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Yet, while...
View ArticleUber confirms no appeal over driver pension rights
Uber has confirmed it will automatically enrol eligible drivers into a qualifying pension scheme following its Supreme Court defeat last month. The ride-sharing app provider said yesterday (16 March)...
View ArticleMartin Jones: Will pension tinkering push young savers into Lifetime ISAs?
In his March budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak was thankfully short on surprises when it came to pensions. However, they didn’t escape scot free as the Chancellor announced a freeze on the lifetime...
View ArticleSimplyBiz adds Pension Works to DB transfer panel
Pension Works has joined SimplyBiz’s outsourced defined benefit (DB) transfer panel. The Knutsford-based specialist retirement advice firm joins Grove Pension Solutions, Pensionhelp, Pension Income...
View ArticleGaudi launches white label drawdown product
Gaudi has launched a white-labelled pension drawdown product for advisers. The self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provider, which manages 24,000 plans, said its new drawdown package could be...
View ArticleNot such a taxing day: Claire Trott’s round-up of the Treasury’s damp squib
With all the hype about the command paper and what we could have seen today, I am not sure if I am relieved or disappointed with what was finally published. The consultations, summary papers and calls...
View ArticleLes Cameron: ISA stats lead to planning thoughts
I was perusing the ISA statistics from June 2020 the other day. Remember maxis and minis? And the allowance was £7,000 when launched back in 1999! It stayed there initially then started increasing by...
View ArticleRP case studies: LTA charges on death benefits explained
The situation Alison’s mother, Tina, recently passed away at age 73. Alison is acting as her mother’s personal representative and has been liaising with Tina’s SIPP provider to get them everything...
View ArticlePensions industry joins forces to tackle small pot problem
An industry co-ordination group has been established to take forward the recommendations of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) small pension pots working group. The Small Pots Co-ordination...
View ArticleChris Read: Lockdown lessons as offices open up
Willy the Walrus is a long way from home. Rumour has it, he fell asleep on an iceberg and woke up off the Irish coast. Easy enough to do, if you are a walrus. He then tried to head home but stopped...
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FCA final guidance reiterates DB transfers not in consumers’ best interests
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published guidance on advising defined benefit (DB) transfers and has reiterated its stance that it is best savers do not transfer out of final salary pension...
View ArticleChristine Hallett: Pandemic raises big questions on DB pension benefits
The UK’s hugely successful vaccination programme has ensured that for the first time in months, the prospect of a relatively normal form of post-pandemic life emerging in the foreseeable future...
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