Monthly Archives: July 2014

Private savings to rescue public finances

I wish Trevor Llanwarne well as he retires as Government Actuary, hoping he’ll take advantage of the 10.3% pa uplift in the BSP if he defers his State Pension till 2106. If he, as many of his civil servant buddies … Continue reading

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Will CDC be available to everyone with a DC pot – or just a lucky few?

A snag has emerged in the Drafting of the Pension Schemes Bill (that will introduce Defined Ambition and with it CDC). It’s one of those little things that seems easy to fix but which has potentially huge consequences, a bit like … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, CDC, DWP, now | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The NHS may hold the keys to Guidance

  I’m indebted to KPMG research for this excellent piece of research. If you didn’t click the link, here is the text of an article entitled “Can patients get the information they need”. Patients need information that is often very … Continue reading

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CDC- your questions answered – by legal eagles

    We’ve been waiting for a decent CDC article from the legal eagles ; thanks to Norton Rose , we now have one and  they are happy to let us share it. So here it is – minus the … Continue reading

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Sign up for The First Actuarial Monkey League -2014 !

  You can save yourself reading 644 words of Pension Plowman pontification and sign up for the Monkey League here. Or you can read the blog and take your decisions at the end.   Here’s why I’m promoting our Monkey … Continue reading

Posted in Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Education, First Actuarial, monkey league, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

If we can provide health screening – we can provide pension guidance

  Organising the Guidance Guarantee is a daunting task but it is no more daunting than many public welfare initiatives. Each year the NHS screens and advises millions of us on a variety of health issues. From STDs to Breast … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, happiness, Henry Tapper blog, Management, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Pension Play Pen Linked In Group

          Last week the Pension Play Pen Linked In Group passed 5000 members. The Group was set up in October 2009 as a way of bringing together people I knew in the industry around an idea … Continue reading

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How retirement products evolve (and revolve).

  There are three drivers that shape the evolution of financial products – supply, demand and Government intervention. Between the mid 80s and today Britain has seen a Financial Services Revolution that has been no less dramatic than the agrarian … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, Bankers, corporate governance, Financial Education, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time to ditch the “institutional” from pensions

  There has always been a gulf between retail and institutional pensions. But I have never felt it so inappropriate . Retail pensions were sold on commission, organised by insurance company and regulated by the Treasury via the FCA and its … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, annuity, Payroll, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Three old farts on DC regulation

            John Reeve, whose previous comments on DC I have dismissed as the “wittering of an out of touch actuary”, has written a telling comment on mallowstreet. I’m sure he won’t mind me re-publishing it … Continue reading

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