Monthly Archives: May 2013

Do consumers benefit from risk-based pricing?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by henry tapper

may be wrong, the idea put up by John Raven, that a risk-based system delivers more may be right, but intuitively I sense we are moving to a more pooled approach to pricing. Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, dc pensions, defined aspiration, NEST, Popcorn Pensions | Tagged David Pitt-Watson, Insurance, John Raven, Legal & General, National Employment Savings Trust, pension, Scottish Widows, Standard Life | 6 Comments

Should we jock the Jocks?

Posted on May 14, 2013 by henry tapper

A huge thankyou to Susan Mcdonald for making this happen. Good on you Edinburgh- even if you have the climate of Reykjavik.
Continue reading →

Posted in governance, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged Edinburgh, Northern Ireland, Samuel Johnson, Scotland, Scots, Scots language, Scottish independence, Union | 3 Comments

So what’s new in pension reform?

Posted on May 14, 2013 by henry tapper

This is a round-up of the current issues buzzing around pensions; we’ll be producing plenty of these bulletins from http://www.pensionplaypen.com so do sign up to its email to get them. Auto-enrolment is underway; but even as staging commences, new pension … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia | Tagged Consultant, George Osborne, Government, Gregg McClymont, pension, Sherlock Holmes, Speech from the throne, UK State Pension | 12 Comments

Into the heart of darkness – ooops Midlothian!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by henry tapper

Let’s hope he gets a great turnout and that we have as lively a debate as ever Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, dc pensions, Henry Tapper blog, pensions, Personality, steve webb | Tagged Britain, Clans, Edinburgh, Gregg McClymont, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Kurtz, pension, Scotland | 3 Comments

Has Webb scotch’d the commission snake – or killed it?

Posted on May 12, 2013 by henry tapper

All the advisers needed to do was to make promises. They did not have to keep them. Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, Fred Goodwin, pension playpen, pensions, poetry, Treasury | Tagged Employment, FCA, Financial Conduct Authority, Financial services, Office of Fair Trading, OFT, pension, Steve Webb | 9 Comments

A momentous day for restoring confidence in UK pensions

Posted on May 11, 2013 by henry tapper

We cannot have confidence in a system where member’s pensions can be impacted by as much as 30% though advisory arbitrage. Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, Payroll, pension playpen, pensions, Popcorn Pensions, workplace pensions | Tagged Actuarial science, Business, Consultant, DWP, Government, Human Resources, Office of Fair Trading, pension | 19 Comments

Club Quango at #WPL13

Posted on May 10, 2013 by henry tapper

Government needs quangos, the Civil Service most of all. But in a strange way, I am comforted by the various Pension Institutions that are Chaired by the ageing lotharios who I collectively name “Club Quango”. At Workplace Pensions Live yesterday we were treated to a … Continue reading →