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Aviva returns to in-house advice with at-retirement launch
Aviva is launching an in-house advisory team focused on assisting clients at the point of retirement. The provider is planning to launch the advice team, expected to be about 20 advisers strong, by...
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Mark Duckworth: How Openwork is taking control of its destiny
Openwork has, to use an overworked phrase, been ‘on a journey’. As recently as five years ago, the adviser network was losing in the region of £1m a month and found itself both the subject of a section...
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Pensions minister Ros Altmann resigns from govt
Pensions minister Ros Altmann has quit the government, suggesting “short-term political considerations, exacerbated by the EU referendum, have inhibited good policy-making”. She has been replaced by...
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Rowanmoor Group acquired by Hornbuckle owner
Pension provider Rowanmoor has been bought out by Embark Group, the owner of rival business Hornbuckle. Embark has taken 100% control of Rowanmoor Trustees, Rowanmoor Consultancy and Rowanmoor...
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FSCS pension advice compensation up 138% as SIPP claims bite
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has seen claims values against life and pension advisers rocket 138% in 2015/16, despite overall claims payouts falling 17%. The FSCS, which is funded...
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The blame game: It’s what’s inside the SIPP wrapper that counts
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and Pensions Ombudsman recently announced that it had seen a rise in the number of complaints linked to pension liberation and self-invested personal...
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Scaling back pensions minister role ‘signals future danger’
The decision to ‘downgrade’ the role of pensions minister places future policy developments at risk, ex-minister Ros Altmann has warned. Altmann quit the role of minister of state for pensions on...
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Pension contribution rates up 17% in five years, Prudential finds
People contributed more than £9bn to pensions in the 2014/15 tax year, 17% more than the £7.71bn put away in 2010/11, according to HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC) data analysed by Prudential....
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Cabinet reshuffle: Top five priorities for pension policy
MP Richard Harrington has succeeded Ros Altmann as pensions minister but in a more junior ministerial capacity. So, what should the under-secretary of state for pensions prioritise over the next year?...
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Pension freedom preoccupation: Mike Morrison on the new retirement world
Funny how, when faced with a blank piece of paper, you can be hijacked by the first information that you see on the day. So today I have unexpectedly ended up back on the topic of pension freedom. In...
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Compensation culture: Is the FSCS funding model fit for purpose?
The unpredictable nature of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) levy is a thorn in the side of many advice businesses and is currently under review. Advisers who responded to the...
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What’s happening in the world of pensions?
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) released its latest pensions schemes newsletter at the end of June, which is always worth a read. If you haven’t got the time to plough through the whole thing I’ve...
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Peter Walker: What could the new master trust legislation look like?
The race is now very much on to encourage as many people as possible to save for their retirement through workplace pensions and auto-enrolment – and boosting the regulatory regime around master trusts...
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Annuity complaints fall to pre-pension freedom levels
The number of annuity-related complaints handled by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) between April and June has dropped to lower levels than before pension freedoms were introduced, while all...
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Auto-enrolment compliance failures rocket 300%
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has significantly increased the use of its formal powers to ensure small and micro employers comply with their auto-enrolment obligations. The watchdog’s interventions...
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Vulnerable people should get state pension ‘early access’
Allowing certain groups early access to their state pension could benefit a quarter of a million people who may otherwise miss out, a joint paper from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) and Age UK...
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Ripple effects: Pension freedom consequences to keep in mind
Over the last decade, financial advisers have had to keep on top of countless changes to the pensions rules. The constant movements in lifetime allowance, numerous forms of protection, slashing of the...
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Pensions Ombudsman to take pro-active legal role after liberation court battle
The Pensions Ombudsman is to increase its participation in legal appeals due to the outcome of the Royal London liberation case earlier this year. The contentious decision, in Hughes v Royal London,...
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Farewell, George: Building on Osborne’s pension legacy
As we bid farewell to Chancellor George Osborne, one of his legacies will be the introduction of pensions freedom. A move that shook the very foundations of the pension and advice sectors. He...
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Pension allowances: Perception is a powerful thing
Perception is a powerful thing. Consider our attitude towards the personal allowance. All else being equal, someone earning £10,000 a year is unlikely to reject a large pay rise purely because they...
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