DB transfer values sink in September
Defined benefit (DB) transfer values fell sharply during September, returning to levels seen in early August, according to Xafinity’s transfer value index. The value of Xafinity’s hypothetical pension...
View ArticleRetired couples face £5k gap on state pension shortfall day
This Friday is ‘state pension shortfall day’, when the spending power of the average pensioner couple outstrips the full annual state pension. This means retirees must find income from other sources to...
View ArticleWhy DC schemes need to reconsider their default investment strategy
The 2017 edition of The Future Book suggests many default funds are not diversified enough to protect savers against market downturns, James Phillips reports. Having the right investment strategy is...
View ArticleInteractive Investor selects Barnett Waddingham as digital SIPP provider
Barnett Waddingham has been appointed as the new self-invested personal pensions provider (SIPP) for trading platform Interactive Investor, following a “significant review”. Barnett Waddingham is...
View ArticleAuto-enrolment inspiration Richard Thaler wins Nobel Economics Prize
Richard Thaler, the US economist and behavioural scientist who helped inspire the UK government to make use of behavioural finance in public policy, has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics....
View ArticleNeil MacGillivray: Déjà vu all over again
The election may have forced him to shelve all his post-Budget presentations but, with the Summer Finance Bill now crawling through Parliament, Neil MacGillivray is back ahead of the game. So what has...
View ArticleScottish Widows launches mobile banking-inspired digital service
Scottish Widows has launched a digital service for consumers aimed at helping them understand and access their workplace pensions. The service gives customers access to information such as their...
View ArticleMike Morrison: Pensions and behavioural bias
Pension freedom has resulted in people behaving in precisely the way behavioural psychologists would have suggested they would when faced with the choices it entails, writes Mike Morrison. Over the...
View ArticleRowanmoor waives SSAS set up fees
Pension provider Rowanmoor has waived the set up fees on its small self-administered schemes (SSAS), for both new and transferred schemes. The offer is available between 1 October 2017 and 31 March...
View ArticlePLSA seeks adviser views on national income targets
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) is seeking adviser views on its consultation designed to help people plan for and meet their retirement goals. ‘Hitting the Target – Delivering...
View ArticleAdvisers fear liability risks for clients contesting DB transfer advice
Nearly half (47%) of advisers have seen an increase in clients disagreeing with defined benefit (DB) transfer recommendations, according to Momentum Pensions. The survey of 102 advisers by PollRight,...
View ArticleChris Knight: Auto-enrolment success must not go to our heads
Auto-enrolment has proved a great success in its first five years but, warns Chris Knight, the financial services sector has much work to do to ensure Britain’s workers actually end up enjoying a...
View ArticleAdviser access not an initial pension dashboard requirement
Access to financial advisers will not be a requirement for the initial pension dashboard but, rather, part of the “future vision” of the project, a report by the Association of British Insurers (ABI)...
View ArticleLloyds acquires Zurich’s workplace pensions and savings business
Lloyds Banking Group has acquired Zurich’s UK workplace pensions and savings business, which it said would accelerate the development of its adviser-based offering. The acquisition added more than...
View ArticleBob Champion: By way of introductions
To what extent, asks Bob Champion, do advisers need to become a ‘dating agency’ for their clients’ needs – matching them to a specialist adviser they believe each individua will get along with? A...
View ArticleDisparity in DC investment performance nearly 50%
The disparity in the investment performance of the UK’s top 10 defined contribution (DC) default funds is so large that savers in the best and worst funds are seeing a difference in annualised returns...
View ArticleHammond poised to implement "nightmare" policy in budget, AJ Bell warns
The government is allegedly planning to fund tax cuts for younger people by cutting the money spent on tax relief for older workers – a policy AJ Bell warned was a “nightmare to implement”. According...
View ArticleFCA probes SIPP providers over NSI holdings
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has written to Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) providers to request information on the non-standard investments (NSI) they hold and any advisers...
View ArticlePhoenix ‘concerned’ about volume and types of new scams
Pension group Phoenix has said more of its customers are reporting approaches from unregulated companies after obtaining personal information or details about their pensions. The group, which owns...
View ArticleJessica List: Should we be careful what we wish for?
The lifetime and annual allowance situation is far from ideal and, says Jessica List, the longer the government takes to address this, the more complicated it will become. It could already be more...
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