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Why retirement doesn’t always mean a carriage clock
In the 2015 film The Intern‘, Robert De Niro plays a 70-year-old retiree who re-joins the workforce as an intern at a fashion e-commerce firm. Both boredom, and a feeling that he wasn’t done with work...
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Retirement planning: Can robo-advice boost engagement?
Switching from the paternalistic defined benefit (DB) system to the more consumer-focused defined contribution (DC) has forced pension providers, trustees and investment consultants to take a much more...
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FCA sets exit charges cap at 1%
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed to ban early exit charges for new pension freedom contracts and to cap existing ones at 1% of the value of the pot. In a consultation paper out on 26...
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Pension jargon – We are talking a foreign language
I was recently sent one of those plaques that you hang on the wall, which depicts phrases used by women and their real meaning. For example, the word ‘fine’. This is actually a word women use to end...
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AE inertia: How and why we must engage the auto-enrolled
Automatic enrolment (AE) has been one of the consistently positive stories in the retirement market in a sea of pension reform turmoil over recent years. AE opt-out rates have consistently outperformed...
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Does the 1% cap on early pension exit fees go far enough?
The regulator has proposed a cap of 1% on controversial early exit charges for existing pensions, but the industry is mixed on whether this move goes far enough to help consumers. The new cap, proposed...
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Has the DC charge cap really made a difference?
The UK government introduced the 0.75% charge cap in April 2015 to ensure auto-enrolled members’ returns were not eroded by high manager fees. But the structure of the defined contribution (DC) market...
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True Potential calls for LISA option in auto-enrolment
Advice and investment firm True Potential has called on the government to include the Lifetime ISA in auto-enrolment after it found workers were twice as likely to choose the product than a pension....
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MPs to launch major inquiry into future of DB schemes
MPs on the work and pensions committee are to launch a probe into the long-term viability of the UK’s 6,000 defined benefit (DB) schemes. The committee is already investigating the current state of...
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Phoenix acquires Axa Wealth pension business for £375m
Phoenix Group has agreed to acquire Axa Wealth’s pensions and protection businesses through its subsidiary Pearl Life for £375m, the firm has announced. The acquisition will add £12.3bn of assets under...
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Saving for retirement: When is enough, enough?
Any initiative to encourage saving behaviour should be applauded as long as the benefits and implications are understood and the expectations of what this delivers are realistic. For many, especially...
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James Hay warns of generic death benefit nomination danger
Provider James Hay has warned of problems with increasingly generic nominations passed on by advisers, saying they were likely to cause complications in the future. Head of technical support Neil...
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Advisers to the rescue: Why IFAs are crucial to auto-enrolment
A recent study into auto-enrolment sign-ups suggests that by 2018 an estimated 63,000 small firms will have been fined for non-compliance if the current rate continues. While the cost to these...
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Changes to widows pension rights are not just a ‘Thai Bride’ problem
There was an article in one of Thailand’s main newspapers last month about what it described as the UK government’s attack on foreigners receiving a British state pension while living abroad. Under the...
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Suffolk Life sees tax enquiries spike on ‘annual allowance confusion’
Suffolk Life has seen a spike of enquiries from advisers about its ‘scheme pays’ facility, suggesting more clients may have breached the annual allowance last year, following the government’s “very...
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Royal London launches drawdown governance service for advisers
Provider Royal London has launched a drawdown governance service for advisers to help them keep track of clients’ portfolios and manage moderate sized pots more efficiently. The online portal gives...
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RP Forum & Awards 2016: FinalytiQ founder added to programme
FinalytiQ founder and director Abraham Okusanya is a late and very welcome addition to the programme for 2016 Retirement Planner Forum & Awards, which takes place on 14 June 2016. The full...
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Employers and workers should agree auto-escalation triggers, report urges
Workers and employers should jointly agree to implement pension contribution automatic escalation triggers to ensure undersaving is properly tackled, a report from Aegon has urged. The 2016 Retirement...
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Questions and answers: Retirement income doesn’t stop at pensions
A question that often asked is, ‘Are you putting enough into your pension for your retirement?’ The answer for the vast majority of people in the UK tends to be ‘no’. The reason why the answer is not...
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Pot of gold: Unregulated investment pushers shift focus to freedom retirees
There has been a sharp rise in the volume of unsolicited calls promoting unregulated investments, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who concluded that individuals over age 55 are most...
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