FOS upholds second case in two weeks against Guinness Mahon
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has upheld a second decision in as many weeks against Guinness Mahon, relating to a high-risk investment made into a SIPP, following unregulated advice. The...
View ArticleCold-calling ban consultation ‘imminent’, Treasury says
A consultation on a cold-calling ban will be published “imminently”, the government has said as it laid out plans for the policy. Regulations for the ban will likely be introduced in the autumn, it...
View ArticleFSCS starts paying out on unsuitable British Steel advice
The first compensation payments relating to Active Wealth UK, the advice firm at the epicentre of the British Steel pension scheme saga, have been paid by the FSCS, as claims against the firm mount....
View ArticleEsther McVey set to ‘kill off’ govt dashboard support – reports
Secretary of state for work and pensions Esther McVey may end the government’s involvement in the pensions dashboard project, according to reports. She believes the project should be provided by the...
View ArticleJessica List: Why pension freedom ‘success’ is non-negotiable
I’ve seen a couple of articles recently suggesting that the pension freedoms are failing. The argument is that there’s no evidence that retirees are any better off now than before the freedoms were...
View ArticleGovt launches second consultation on pensions cold-calling ban
The Treasury has launched a second consultation on banning pensions cold-calling, which aims to seek final views on already-drafted regulation. Defining this process as a ‘technical consultation’, the...
View ArticlePetition to save pensions dashboard passes 80,000 signatures
A petition urging the government not to scrap its support for the pensions dashboard has attracted more than 82,000 signatures in less than a week. The petition, which launched six days ago, is...
View ArticleSJP adviser advertises transfer service to pilots via private BA site
A St James’s Place (SJP) adviser advertises his pension transfer services to British Airways pilots via an online banner on a private website only accessible by pilots, it has emerged. A letter from...
View ArticleCharlene Young: Some DC savers still fighting for pension freedom
It has been over four years since George Osborne’s famous budget speech announcing freedom and choice in the defined contribution (DC) pension world. However, some pension savers are still finding they...
View ArticleRP case studies: Lifetime allowance versus income tax charges
Eric is a lucky man. He has an uncrystallised self-invested personal pension (SIPP) plan currently worth £691,184, as well as a scheme pension and an annuity in payment which together with the state...
View ArticleCampaign urges govt to extend pension freedom to pre-2015 retirees
Campaigners are urging the government to revise pension freedom rules to extend the policy to people who retired before April 2015. According to the ‘Your Pension, Your Choice’ campaign, some five...
View ArticleNEST’s actively-enrolled female member total defies ‘assumed logic’
About a quarter of a million people have made an active choice to enrol in NEST with women making up more than half (54%) of ‘active-enrollers’ – a fact that “flies in the face of assumed logic”, said...
View ArticleComplaints against unregulated investment scheme InvestUS rise
There has been a sharp increase in enquiries from clients who have been mis-sold investments into unregulated scheme InvestUS, according to solicitors Anthony Philip James & Co (APJ). APJ now...
View ArticleABI renews warning over expat pensions in no deal Brexit scenario
MPs have again been warned that it may become illegal to pay private pensions to expat Britons if the government fails to secure a Brexit deal. A no-deal Brexit would lead to UK firms losing access to...
View ArticleTreasury Committee calls for abolition of LISA
The Treasury Committee has called upon the government to abolish the lifetime ISA (LISA) just 16 months after it was first made available, after receiving persistently negative feedback on the product....
View ArticleGraham Muir: SIPP market polarisation explained
Bill Gates famously said: “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to...
View ArticleFSCS claims from failed SIPP provider pour in
There has been more than 200 claims against failed self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provider Lifetime SIPP submitted to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Lifetime SIPP entered...
View ArticlePeter Hopkins: The nitty-gritty of discretionary death benefits
When I started with the Inland Revenue in the late eighties one of our most useful leaflets was called, “What Happens When Someone Dies”. The ambiguity in that always amused me as it seemed more...
View ArticlePension freedom withdrawals hit record £2.3bn in Q2
A record £2.3bn was withdrawn from pensions under Freedom and Choice in the second quarter of this year, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The period also saw the highest number of people...
View ArticleRevealed: First shortlists for 2018 Women in Financial Advice Awards
Retirement Planner and Professional Adviser are proud to publish the first shortlists for the inaugural Women in Financial Advice Awards, the winners of which will be announced at a ceremony in London...
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