Wealth Wizards launches white-label at-retirement ‘robo-paraplanner’
Wealth Wizards has launched a “robo-paraplanner”, which it claimed produces results as secure as – and more consistent than – face-to-face advice. The white-label offering produces a recommended...
View ArticleAttractive DB transfer fees could lead to misselling, warns adviser
Advisers charging “excessive” fees for attractive defined benefit (DB) transfer values face a conflict of interest that could one day result in a misselling scandal, one concerned adviser has warned....
View ArticleShoe company left footing £42,000 AE bill from TPR
High street footwear firm Johnsons Shoes Company has had to pay a £40,000 fine after failing to engage with its automatic enrolment (AE) duties. The shoe firm was initially issued with a £400 fixed...
View ArticleRace against time: Equity release in an ageing world
Explaining the benefits of equity release is becoming more important as life expectancy rises, explains Andrea Rozario. The retirement landscape is changing at a rapid rate, but attitudes to what...
View ArticleMartin Tilley: Actions against scammers must now match words
It is time for government bodies to start making appropriate legislation and funding their regulators sufficiently to help stop consumers losing their savings to pension and investment scammers, says...
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At risk: When naked drawdown leaves clients too exposed
Steven Cameron talks through the type of client who would be best suited to blended retirement income solutions. Last month marked two full years since pension freedom arrived in the UK, and as the...
View ArticleInvestors turn to state pension for regular retirement income – research
Fewer than a quarter of savers plan to buy an annuity; instead, they are likely to rely on the state pension to generate an income stream in retirement, according to research from CoreData. The...
View ArticleLabour: The leaked pension manifesto pledges in full
The leaked draft of Labour’s general election manifesto includes a raft of pension proposals, including plans to amend the Takeover Code to protect pensioners and a pledge to enable the development of...
View ArticleMike Morrison: Death benefit planning issues and opportunities
Looking at the complex world of death benefit planning post-pension freedom, Mike Morrison highlights the flexibility on offer to DC savers. So we are now two years into the pension freedoms regime and...
View ArticleShaun Gomm: User experience must be pension dashboard’s defining factor
Shaun Gomm explores the pension dashboard project, which he believes will boost control over retirement saving – providing user experience remains at the heart of its design. Despite the population...
View ArticleVenture capital trusts: From alternative to mainstream
Venture capital trusts are becoming a popular investment among pension savers, writes Stuart Lewis. Pensions are still one of the most tax-efficient investments out there – and they remain the go-to...
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Tools of the trade: Pension planning for the self-employed
Bernadette Lewis explains how allowances and tax reliefs are calculated for self-employed clients. People working and taxed on a self-employed basis have to rely on themselves to build up their pension...
View ArticleFour pension freedom issues the new govt will need to address
While it may be too early to gauge the true success of pensions freedom, there are four issues the next government will need to address, according to a panel at this year’s Morningstar investment...
View ArticlePension freedoms drive ‘record-breaking’ platform flows in Q1
Platforms experienced a ‘record-breaking’ first quarter after seeing the highest quarterly sales on record, with assets under management (AUA) reaching £520bn, Fundscape has found. According to the...
View ArticleStephen Lowe: Live long. And prosper?
With longevity back in the news again, Stephen Lowe says the strength of professional advice is it looks beyond mere averages in order to treat people as individuals – but where does that leave...
View ArticlePension savers lose £8m to scams in March – police figures
Pension scam losses hit a monthly post-pension freedom high of £8m in March, according to figures from the City of London Police. The record £8.6m losses came from just 24 victims, and totalled more...
View ArticleAdrian Boulding: The General Election – so where’s the App for that?
As politicians begin to twig there may be some point after all in courting the youngest generation of voters, Adrian Boulding has some thoughts on how they could go about doing so – and the research to...
View ArticleGraham Muir: Survival of the fittest
Size and scale are increasingly being seen as crucial qualities for a SIPP business but, argues Graham Muir, those two factors alone do not necessarily equate to adviser and client satisfaction....
View ArticleCurrent DB landscape ‘not sustainable’, Ros Altmann warns
The current defined benefit (DB) pensions landscape is unsustainable and unaffordable, regardless of the views presented in the government’s latest green paper, former pension minister Ros Altmann has...
View ArticleABI moves Pensions Dashboard into ‘interim’ phase
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is to establish an “interim phase” of the pensions dashboard after successfully developing a prototype. The association said it would establish a cost benefit...
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