Monthly Archives: November 2011

A necessary strike

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

If there’s one area of consensus among the politicians this morning, it’s that the national pensions strike called for today (30th November) is unnecessary and something this country can ill afford. I disagree – this is a necessary strike, not … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, dc pensions, Liberal Democrats, NEST, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Treasury 1 DWP 0 (Steve Webb o.g. 89 minutes)

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

I wouldn’t like to be Steve Webb this afternoon. Having protested for the past few weeks that the DWP‘s auto-enrolment timeline was carved in stone, we learn today that employers with 3000 or less employees  (for details follow this link!) will have another year or so to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bankers, Church of England, customer service, dc pensions, Liberal Democrats, Middle East, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why pay for advice? Take the poll!

Posted on November 26, 2011 by

[polldaddy poll=5703072] This is a question that troubles me – not surprising as I’m a pensions adviser who reckons his job is to get people to the point when they can manage their pension affairs by themselves. If advisory self sufficiency is … Continue reading →

Posted in corporate governance, dc pensions, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Meaningless choice

Posted on November 25, 2011 by

“choices should only be offered where they are meaningful, timely and can be taken in the full understanding of both up and downside”.
Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, de-risking, Fiduciary Management, Liability Driven Investment, NEST, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Lear- third age monarch- fourth age fool?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by

That Debora Price talk really got to me. Gone my cosy vision of a comfy third age, supplanted by nightmare dotage and dementia. The last time I really confronted the issue of growing really old was when I was involved in … Continue reading →

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Australia squeeze home against South Africa at the Wanderers

Posted on November 21, 2011 by

 For posterity, here is the last page of ESPNcricinfo’s wonderful commentary of the last overs of the Jo’burg test twixt the Saffers and the Aussies.   South Africa 266 & 339 Australia 296 & 310/8 (86.5 ov) Australia won by 2 wickets Australia RR3.57 Last … Continue reading →

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The man from Yamaichi said no

Posted on November 21, 2011 by

Sometime in 1993 I was advising a bunch of traders at Yamaichi Securities a now defunct Japanese trading house in the City. The Japanese equity markets were in a tailspin (from which they have not recovered) but the markets they were trading … Continue reading →

Posted in Bankers, corporate governance, Fiduciary Management, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Fair pensions at work.

Posted on November 20, 2011 by

How bosses decide to be paid is not just up to them. The shareholders, those lending money to the company and – not least – the rest of the workforce have a keen interest in making sure the company’s profits … Continue reading →

Posted in corporate governance, dc pensions, Occupy London, OECD, pension playpen, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sacred cows at the abattoir

Posted on November 19, 2011 by

In her 45 minute talk, Debora led us to an abattoir of sacred cows where we saw strung up on meat hooks our most cherished hopes. Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, Fiduciary Management, NEST, OECD, pension playpen, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ticking timebombs in the pension cupboard

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

When things go wrong in DC pension administration they go badly wrong. The old axiom is “right first time”. The cost of unravelling a mistake can be ruinous. Take the case of the Dutch insurer Aegon, whose UK subsidiary formerly Scottish Equitable– has had … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, Liability Driven Investment, NEST, pension playpen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment