Dynamic lifestyling: The new kid on the block
Tom Selby analyses whether a portfolio based on market conditions would be more suitable for today’s client What is the best way to invest for retirement? This seemingly simple question has spawned...
View ArticleFCA retirement outcomes review: Half of pots accessed fully withdrawn
More than half of retirement pots accessed under pension freedom rules have been fully withdrawn, the Financial Conduct Authority confirmed in its interim retirement outcomes review. Published on 12...
View ArticleFCA toys with ‘decoupling’ tax-free withdrawals from drawdown
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is considering whether it should ‘decouple’ the ability to take tax-free cash from a pension from the decision about what to do with the remainder of a pension...
View ArticleIndustry split on retirement advice for all to ensure good outcomes
The industry is split over whether consumers should be urged to seek retirement advice regardless of the size of their pensions, following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) retirement outcome...
View Article‘Landmark’ pension rights victory for gay couple in Supreme Court
Supreme Court judges have ruled a man and his husband should have the same pension rights as an opposite-sex couple, clarifying the point schemes overall cannot discriminate against same-sex couples....
View ArticlePeople who take financial advice ‘are £40,000 better off’
People who receive either independent or restricted financial advice are on average £40,000 better off than their unadvised peers, research by the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK) has found....
View ArticleCost of SIPP claims up 35% as FSCS pays out £105m
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has repaid more than £105m in self-invested personal pension (SIPP) claims in 2016/17 – a 35% increase on the previous year. The lifeboat fund said the...
View ArticleStephen Lowe: Lessons in pension saving from Down Under
It is now 25 years since Australia introduced compulsory pension saving so, asks Stephen Lowe, what can the UK and its comparatively new experiment with auto-enrolment learn from that experience?...
View ArticleMPAA reduction effective from April 2017, govt confirms
The government has confirmed the pre-election policies in its 2017 Finance Bill that were due to take effect from April this year, including the cut to the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), will...
View ArticleTaylor review ‘short’ on self-employed pensions – CPS’s Johnson
CPS fellow Michael Johnson has criticised the Taylor review for “stopping short” on making specific recommendations for people working in the so-called gig economy, including the self-employed. In his...
View ArticleCII pushes ahead with new transfer qualification
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) is pushing ahead with the launch of a new pension transfer qualification in light of the regulator’s recent consultation on defined benefit (DB) transfers. The...
View ArticleHalf of advisers have seen rise in DB ‘insistent clients’– Pru
Almost half (44%) of advisers have seen an increase in insistent clients wanting to push ahead with defined benefit (DB) pension transfers despite their initial recommendation to keep their safeguarded...
View ArticleFCA has reviewed DB transfer history of 92 firms
The regulator has so far looked into 92 firms as part of its multi-firm supervision exercise on defined benefit (DB) transfers, a freedom of information request submitted by Retirement Planner’s sister...
View ArticleTPR threatens to prosecute firms for withholding information
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has warned it will not hesitate to prosecute companies and people who refuse to provide requested information in ongoing investigations. In a warning issued on 18 July the...
View ArticleBob Champion: Solutions across all the ‘silos’
The modern retirement market requires solutions that cross all advice areas to deliver the best outcomes for clients, writes Bob Champion – and without pushing costs beyond their reach On the day the...
View ArticleHome improvements and clearing mortgages top equity release uses
Home improvements and clearing an existing mortgage topped the list of uses for equity release in the first half of 2017, Retirement Advantage has found. More than a quarter (27%) of people used wealth...
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R.I.P. de-risking: Is lifestyling still fit for purpose today?
Emily Perryman examines whether the ‘traditional’ models of pension investing, such as lifestyling, can still be considered appropriate An increase in the average life expectancy and the need for...
View ArticleScottish Widows launches retirement guide for advisers
Scottish Widows has launched a guide for advisers planning retirement income strategies for their clients. The Centralised Retirement Proposition guide covers the ‘at retirement’ and ‘in retirement’...
View ArticleState pension age to increase to 68 by 2039 under new govt proposals
The government has announced plans to increase the state pension age to 68 between 2037 and 2039, in line with proposals laid out in the Cridland report. The state pension age is currently set to...
View ArticleMid-life MOT a ‘nice idea’ but won’t work, advisers say
Advisers are sceptical the idea of a ‘mid-life MOT’, as proposed by Cridland and backed by the Personal Finance Society (PFS), would work in practice. A number of advisers said they had doubts about...
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