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Bengen’s rule: Beware the 4% ‘safe’ withdrawal rate fallacy
Perhaps the biggest challenge posed by pension freedom is ensuring clients spend and invest their savings in a sustainable way, writes Tom Selby. But with interest rates – and hence bond yields and...
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Flexi-access pensioners unaware of MPAA risks
The majority of people accessing their pensions flexibly by drawing cash while still paying in are unaware of the tax implications and the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), new research has...
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Government should allow adviser charging via LISA – AJ Bell
The government should allow adviser charging to be facilitated via Lifetime ISAs to make advice on the products more attractive, provider AJ Bell has said. The provider warned the absence of adviser...
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Pensions dashboard prototype ready for April – ABI
The pensions dashboard prototype has been demonstrated to government ministers and is ready to be unveiled next month, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said. Developed by 17 pension firms...
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Scottish Widows launches DB toolkit to support advisers
Scottish Widows has launched a ‘digital toolkit’ to support advisers with defined benefit (DB) transfer advice following a surge in transfer requests. The toolkit, which is available to use free of...
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Keeley Paddon: Top of the QROPS
Keeley Paddon outlines the practicalities advisers need to consider in the wake of the changes to the tax treatment of QROPS transfers outlined in last month’s Spring Budget. In last month’s Spring...
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Elaine Turtle: The state pension age review reviewed
Elaine Turtle rounds up the key points of the Cridland review of the state pension age and what they mean for both the UK population and the cause of long-term saving. The Government recently...
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Thousands of over-50s eye pension funds to fix homes – Saga
Thousands of people aged 50 and above cannot afford to repair their home and are poised to dip into their retirement savings to do so, according to later life insurer Saga. Research from Saga’s equity...
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Advisers anticipate Brexit boom – MetLife
The majority (67%) of advisers think Brexit is good for their business but are worried about investment volatility during the two-year process of leaving the EU, research has found. Metlife found...
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Have your say: Will the Cridland review solve the UK’s pension crisis?
A major review of the UK’s state pension by former CBI boss John Cridland (pictured) has recommended increasing the retirement age to 68, ending the triple lock and introducing a mid-life ‘MOT’. This...
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Pension freedom – the first two years in numbers
Today marks the second anniversary of the introduction of the so-called ‘pension freedom’ reforms that, in just a couple of years, have fundamentally changed the UK’s retirement landscape. The...
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DB transfer values stable in March
Defined benefit (DB) transfer values stayed flat throughout March following a rise in February, according to the latest Xafinity Transfer Value Index (TVI). Throughout last month, transfer values fell...
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William Burrows: Drawdown – good, bad or indifferent?
Drawdown is the new default for those taking income from their pension pot so, on the second anniversary of pension freedom, William Burrows lifts the bonnet and takes a look at what is powering the...
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Stephen Lowe: Is it time to retire the pension ‘f-word’?
Instead of using the ‘f-word’ to describe the pension reforms that mark their second anniversary today, says Stephen Lowe, it is a shame they were not badged ‘opportunity and choice’. Two years on from...
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Growth companies: The EIS opportunity to be grabbed
Opportunities in growth EIS companies are great, but the risk reward profile is different, warns Oxford Capital’s Simon Ruthers. As we approach tax year-end, the focus of many clients will turn to...
View ArticleNeil MacGillivray: NIClear fallout
There are some good reasons why Chancellor Philip Hammond does not seem too bothered by his supposedly disastrous U-turn on increasing Class 4 National Insurance contributions, explains Neil...
View ArticleIndustry ‘deluded’ to think DB-DC switch would be comfortable – Lucian Camp
A “collective delusion” is causing the financial planning sector to believe it could comfortably adapt from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) schemes, according to Lucian Camp. Speaking...
View ArticleSplitting up: Exploring pension options at divorce
Fiona Tait analyses the role of pension advisers during a matrimonial break-up. In most divorce cases, financial assets are fairly easy to find and assess. But even in a relatively amicable split, one...
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Save our SSAS: Pension industry hits out at ban proposal
SSAS-related scams are better tackled by tightening the rules on transfers and single-member schemes, pension commentators tell Emily Perryman. The pensions industry has reacted angrily to a proposal...
View ArticleGareth James: Identifying a new headache for adviser firms
Gareth James sheds some light on a new contender for the award for ‘under-the-radar rules that are likely to bite the unprepared’ – the regulations covering the Legal Entity Identifier. In recent years...
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