Curtis Banks ‘proactively exploring’ possible acquisitions
SIPP and small self-administered scheme (SSAS) provider Curtis Banks has said it is “proactively exploring” possible acquisitions with a view to adding scale to the business. In its results published...
View ArticleTPR Blog: Why granting master trusts authorisation extensions makes good sense
As we approach the 31 March deadline for master trust authorisation applications, we are encouraged that many more providers have applied. Some have admitted it is a challenging task, but that TPR is...
View ArticleAegon, Ensign and Fidelity seek authorisation as applications reach 22
Aegon Master Trust, Fidelity Master Trust and Ensign have sent off their authorisation applications to The Pensions Regulator (TPR). Aegon submitted its application today (21 March), while Ensign...
View ArticleStephen Lowe: Five years on, how is pension freedom working out?
Five years ago this week, then-Chancellor George Osborne unveiled his plan for pension ‘freedom and choice’. Since the policy was implemented a year later, pension savers aged from 55 have had greater...
View ArticleTPR grants extensions for 11 master trust authorisation applications
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has granted 11 master trusts extensions to apply for authorisation, as it confirmed it received 22 applications ahead of the 31 March deadline. According to a blog,...
View ArticleGeorge Houston: Fighting the ‘fake news’ media
I, like many of you I am sure, get really frustrated at how stories relevant to financial planning are portrayed in the news. It can make our job as trusted advisers that bit more difficult as, ‘if it...
View ArticleDB transfers have ‘passed their peak’
Defined benefit (DB) transfer activity has “passed the peak point” after the market dropped some 20% in six months, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)....
View ArticleTPR grants authorisation application extension to Now Pensions as Waterson...
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has granted Now Pensions a six-week extension for its master trust authorisation application after the 31 March deadline, RP’s sister publication Professional Pensions can...
View Article‘LTA timebomb’ to hit more than a million workers – Royal London
An estimated 1.25 million people can expect to breach the £1.03m lifetime allowance (LTA) before they retire, research by Royal London has indicated. Some 290,000 workers already have pension rights...
View ArticleFCA warns providers to act if advisers lose DB transfer permissions
Pension providers will be expected to check adviser firms have the appropriate permissions to carry out defined benefit (DB) transfers and “act accordingly” if not, the FCA has warned. In a ‘Dear CEO’...
View ArticleHow should DC schemes construct their default strategies?
As the majority of defined contribution (DC) members are saving into their scheme’s default fund, trustee and provider decisions on how to structure these strategies will have a significant impact on...
View ArticleIntelligent Money stops accepting DB transfer business
Self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provider Intelligent Money has stopped accepting business from defined benefit (DB) transfers. RP’s sister title Professional Adviser understands the SIPP...
View ArticleWelplan to exit master trust market as environment ‘favours much larger scale’
Welplan Pensions has triggered its exit from the master trust market, with just a few days to go until The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) application deadline. The £147m scheme – set up in 1988 – informed...
View ArticleStephen McPhillips: Baby boomers and their pensions
Although I am a fraction too young to fit into the category of ‘baby boomer’ – generally considered those born between 1944 and 1964 – I have been involved in self invested / member directed pension...
View ArticleAE contribution hike ‘could make £100,000 difference’ in retirement
Next month’s auto-enrolment (AE) contribution increase could ultimately make a difference of more than £100,000 to savers’ retirement savings, according to calculations by Interactive Investor. From 6...
View ArticleNeil MacGillivray: Is government winning the tax avoidance battle?
As part of the Spring Statement, the government issued a policy paper, headed Tackling tax avoidance, evasion, and other forms of non-compliance, which set out its approach and achievements in...
View ArticlePension freedom rights ‘eroded’ by Dear CEO letter
The recent ‘Dear CEO’ letter sent by the FCA to pension providers could mean pension freedom for defined benefit (DB) scheme members are “being eroded”, one SIPP provider has warned. Last Friday (22...
View ArticleMattioli Woods buys SSAS advice firm for £4m
Mattioli Woods has bought Belfast-based SSAS Solutions for an initial price of £2.5m that could rise up to £4m, subject to certain financial targets. The small self-administered pension scheme (SSAS)...
View ArticleAtlas Master Trust applies for authorisation
The Atlas Master Trust has applied for authorisation to The Pensions Regulator (TPR), taking the total number of applications to 24 as the end of March deadline looms. The master trust, owned by Capita...
View ArticleFCA hits back: Providers will not be responsible for DB advice
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has clarified its position after its ‘Dear CEO’ letter left pension providers unsure how far their responsibility for DB pension transfer advice extended. Last...
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