Monthly Archives: April 2015
Excellent election digest from Age UK
With the general election fast approaching on 7th May 2015, it’s time to decide which party you will soon be voting for. Many of you may have already decided, but for those who are still unsure, we have looked into … Continue reading
Care or hubris? – How Tesco got in such a pensions mess.
Every little helps? The right old mess that Tesco has found itself in , is blamed partially on its mishandling of its pension strategy. How can an organisation with the motto “every little counts” have such a large pension deficit? … Continue reading
Posted in Change
Tagged Aldi, art of pensions, atrophication, CDC, change, Deficit, Finest, Google, Leadership, lidl, Morrisons, NAPF, progress, Tesco
11 Comments
What’s inside the wrapper’s – what matters! Guest blog from Ralph Frank
I often find myself bemused, and/or confused, when I see investment portfolios specified in terms of product wrappers (e.g. unit trusts, exchange traded funds, structured notes etc.) instead of the underlying investments (e.g. equities, bonds etc.). The underlying investments, … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Business, Chief investment officer, corporate risk, dc pensions, Employment, ETF, Government, Investment, investments, pensions, Ralph Frank, Retirement, wrapper, wrappers
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How pensions restrain public sector pay and services.
The latest discussions about how we will manage the nation’s finances are focussing on public sector pay.Nick Clegg tells us that his party will make sure wages would rise in real terms for two years from 2016, and then … Continue reading
Labour in a kilt? – Pensions, politics and plagiarism
The SNP’s manifesto is a pretty shameless cut and paste of labour party policy. If your hit single was covered by your biggest rival and it was they that got the royalties when it went to #1, you’d be pretty … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Business, Cameron, Clegg, Conservative, Ed Milliband, Financial services, Labour, Liberals, pension playpen, pensions, Plagiarism, Politics, Retirement, SNP, Sturgeon
3 Comments
Pension salary sacrifice – how to make friends (and keep the bosses happy)!
Whether you’re an agent or working in-house processing pension payments are or will be part of your payroll duties. But are you doing all you can to make those pension payments as efficient to your employer as they can be? … Continue reading
Unrecoverable VAT on auto-enrolment advice
Advising on the pension decision used to be VAT free. That is because of an exemption for insurance that made commission and fee based advice on commission products VAT free. But now advice on auto-enrolment and pensions does not just … Continue reading
Scrap the LifeTime Allowance – for hard working people!
The Conservatives say they want to reward hard working people. I’d like to thing they include me in that number. They want to appoint Ros Altmann to help us educate ourselves in finances, I’d like to think I’ve been educating … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Conservatives, George Osborne, hard working, hardworking people, Labour, Liberals, Lifetime allowance, pensions, Ros Altmann, Tories
6 Comments
Does Lady Altmann get our vote?
The Guardian is reporting the Conservatives intention to elevate Ros Altmann to the House of Lords and make her minister for consumer affairs. She will not of course get our vote as she will be unelected- but she has flagrantly … Continue reading