Monthly Archives: September 2014

How to p*ss off a journalist

On the slow train back from Kingswood I glance at my tweets Still waiting for @hmtreasury to explain why details of 45% tax on post 75 inherited pension lump sums omitted from initial announcement. — Josephine Cumbo (@JosephineCumbo) September 30, … Continue reading

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Don’t get fooled by the phoney pension giveaway

The phoney give-away The most accurate measure for the success of private pensions in the UK is the replacement ratio; a measure of what percentage of people’s pre-retirement income is replaced by savings specifically for retirement. Steve Webb and the … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, Politics, Public sector pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Annuities get another kick in the goolies

What’s the story? The Chancellor will announce in his speech at the Tory conference that he will put a stop to the 55% tax on pension pots not spent at death. The Treasury announcement on what detail we so far … Continue reading

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Ros Altmann on why the over 60’s are missing out on “free pension money”

Ros Atmann recently told me she wished she could blog like me, having read this blog, I wish I could write like her! Huge numbers of over 60s are opting out of pensions auto-enrolment, losing their employer contribution Budget pension … Continue reading

Posted in accountants, annuity, auto-enrolment, Flump, pension playpen, pensions, Pensions Regulator | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

“My pension offer” – explaining CDC to a confused public!

John Ralfe has been expressing his frustration that none of the CDC champions have made him a two page offer to tell him what a CDC pension offer might look like. I’ve not done this yet, partly because I’ve been … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, auto-enrolment, CDC, pensions, with-profits, workplace pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pension PlayPen wins 7 and is shortlisted for a further 9 awards

For the second year running, Pension PlayPen has been short-listed for the Payroll World Technology Award. Pension Play Pen has also been shortlisted for the small schemes auto-enrolment implementation award. These nominations come on the back of Henry Tapper, Pension … Continue reading

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The value of regular savings

  60 years ago, a revolution happened in the savings industry- it was the “standing order”. The standing order became the “variable direct debit” and people were able to establish regular savings plans which worked like magic, taking money from … Continue reading

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What’s that coming over the hill…? NAPF CDC DEBATE #Fail

  The NAPF CDC Debate The debate on how we organise our retirement incomes from our pension savings was not progressed at the NAPF’s CDC focussed pension connections meeting last night. A half filled room witnessing a debate between two “Pale … Continue reading

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The best practice approach to choosing a workplace pension

  The Pension PlayPen has been asked to outline the research process that lies behind the Factsheets and provider ratings on http://www.pensionplaypen.com . This is the process.   The purpose of Pension PlayPen research is To establish the universe of … Continue reading

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Is there a productivity dividend from auto-enrolment?

Pension PlayPen will give a leg up to anyone who’s trying – even some clapped out old bank that lost the trust of its customers long ago. So here’s some research produced by Barclays. I have written recently about the … Continue reading

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