SIPP providers warn against ‘indefensible’ insistent client pension transfers
Self-invested personal pension (SIPP) providers have warned against accepting insistent client defined benefit (DB) transfers, saying the practice was “indefensible” from the outset. Dentons Pensions...
View ArticleRecord-low savings ratio ‘paints misleading picture’– research
UK households have not stopped saving to go on a debt-fuelled consumer spending spree, according to research from Royal London, despite official figures revealing the savings ratio is at a record-low....
View ArticleMartin Jones: Don’t ignore pension freedom in IHT planning
While the advent of pension freedom two years ago mostly caught the eye as a result of the new ability to take benefits free from caps, there were also important rule changes that make pensions...
View ArticlePensions Regulator to prosecute ex-BHS owner Dominic Chappell
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is to prosecute Dominic Chappell for failing to provide information and documents it requested during its investigation into the sale of BHS. Chappell was the director and...
View ArticleBob Champion: Is anything ever certain when it comes to retirement?
The government recently announced that it intends to bring forward the increase in state pension retirement age to 68 in 2039. More important than the date was the fact it is also adopting the...
View ArticlePaul Darvill: Is now the perfect time to switch SSAS provider?
Paul Darvill looks at the enduring popularity of SSAS for small business owners but asks if it could be time for advisers to mixing it up when it comes to providers Small self-administered schemes...
View ArticleBernadette Lewis: Making the personal allowance work for high earners
The personal allowance is £11,500 in 2017/2018, but £1 of allowance is lost for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000 – creating an effective 60% tax rate on income between £100,000 and...
View ArticleGraham Muir: Have you got a Klinsmann in your client bank?
With the football season upon us, I read with interest that the Football Association is introducing a retrospective ban for diving from next season and it couldn’t come a moment too soon. Apparently,...
View ArticlePension scams: Six key stats which sparked cold-calling ban
Following government confirmation that it would ban cold-calling in a bid to stamp out pension scams, PA has put together a list of key stats which drove the campaign … Measures designed to protect...
View ArticleGeorge Houston: The positive positioning of auto-enrolment
I have three daughters aged 22, 20 and 14. They make me feel old. Like many parents, I guess, I often wonder what their lives will bring and what career paths they will follow in the years to come. By...
View ArticleFor your diary: Key pension dates you should know
It has been a busy year for pensions policy and regulation, and there is still a lot in the pipeline for 2017. Here’s a list of what to watch out for in the coming weeks and months … 15 September: The...
View ArticleAI-related GDP gains should mean state pension age reduction – TUC
Economic gains resulting from advances in digitisation, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) should be used to reverse planned increases to the state pension age, according to the TUC. Shaping Our...
View ArticleTom Selby: Will Treasury take nuclear option on higher-rate pension tax relief?
Ministers have already made noises about building consensus on certain areas of public policy and, Tom Selby points out, pensions are desperate for the kind of certainty consensus can bring. We do not...
View ArticleJessica List: There really is such a thing as bad publicity
As I reached the end of the FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review interim report, I could not help but feel there was an elephant in the corner of the room, quietly waiting to be addressed. The report...
View ArticleTom Selby: Will Treasury take nuclear option on pension tax relief?
Ministers have already made noises about building consensus on certain areas of public policy and, Tom Selby points out, pensions are desperate for the kind of certainty consensus can bring We do not...
View ArticleABI: Dashboard needs legislation to avoid patchy coverage
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said legislation will be required to ensure the pension dashboard has wide enough coverage so it can work for everyone. Speaking yesterday at the annual...
View ArticleBob Champion: Life is not fair
Whatever the future, life will continue to be unfair yet, more than ever, says Bob Champion, people need to save for their retirement and, the more they save, the more options they will have to enjoy...
View ArticleDWP hints at ramping up cost disclosure in DC; plans to consult
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wants to improve the disclosure of costs and charges to defined contribution (DC) members and will consult on this in the future, policy manager David Farrar...
View ArticleDB transfer values back on the rise in August
Defined benefit (DB) transfer values are back on the rise following a calm summer, according to the latest Xafinity transfer value index (TVI). The value of Xafinity’s hypothetical pension rose...
View ArticleAndy Beswick: Four key areas of advice in the ‘secondary AE market’
As automatic-enrolment (AE) reaches the end of staging dates in October, heralding a new era for workplace pensions, Andy Beswick lists four key areas for financial advisers in the new marketplace....
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