Monthly Archives: May 2015
Let’s stop bitching about Pension Wise.
Pension Wise is not yet two months old, but already it has been written off by some industry commentators. I suspect that part of this is frustration from journalists who cannot get data out of Pension Wise – who remain … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
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Helping carers to a proper pension..
How hard is it for us to get those who care for others , the same pension rights as those of us cared for by our employers? Rather hard – it would seem – at least according to yesterday’s Moneybox. … Continue reading
Posted in auto-enrolment, pensions
Tagged auto enrolment, Business, carers, DWP, Employment, NHS, older workers, pension, Pension new, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, Ros Altmann, The Pension Regulator
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The cost of auto-enrolment
Charlotte Clark – one of the architects of auto-enrolment and now head of private pensions in the DPW – is an economist. She is familiar with cost having worked in a corresponding position in the Treasury and it was … Continue reading
IFAs and actuaries – as easy as “A Cap B”.
For half of the 30 years I’ve been advising people, I was paid by private individuals to help them take difficult financial decisions. For the other half, I’ve been paid by employers to help their staff take difficult decisions. This … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, advice gap
Tagged actuaries, Actuary, advice, Business, corporate governance, dc pensions, Financial services, Government, Guidance, IFA, National Employment Savings Trust, pension playpen, Pension Poverty, Pension Regulator, pensions, Politics, Steve Webb, transfers
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Consistency and Simplicity (guest blog – Ralph Frank)
The current UK pension taxation regime gives preferential treatment to Defined Benefit (“DB”) savers relative to Defined Contribution (“DC”) savers at both theAnnual Allowance (“AA”) and Lifetime Allowance (“LA”) levels. The current taxation system is overly complex, with two … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged AA, Business, dc pensions, Employment, Government, LTA, National Employment Savings Trust, pension, Pension new, pension playpen, pensions, Politics, Ros Altmann, Tax
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Procrastination, the thief of time – (Josh Collins)
Procrastination is, in essence, stealing from yourself. The reason goals are so hard to reach, many psychologists think, is because each person believes they are really two people: Present Me and Future Me. And to most people, Future Me is much less … Continue reading
Advice and education
I chaired a meeting of independent financial advisers at RIBA yesterday. The best thing about the morning was the half hour spent over lunch in the wonderful Rennie Mackintosh exhibition within RIBA’s beautiful HQ in Great Portland Street, a … Continue reading
A tax on pensions, no one saw coming.
The single state pension , coming to a pensioner near you , from April 2016 is supposed to be simple. It will operate under the same rules for everyone. But that doesn’t mean that everyone will get the same pension (as … Continue reading
Posted in pensions, Pensions Regulator, Ros Altmann
Tagged cuts, defined benefit, DWP, GMP, Indexation, National Insurance, pensins, Tax
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Whose risk is it anyway?
No matter how we look at it – we do not- and will not- live in a command economy. That means we have to take decisions for ourselves rather than be told how to live our lives. If you want … Continue reading
Posted in CDC, dc pensions, defined ambition, Management, Money Advice Service
Tagged apples, choice, dc pensions, de-risking, DWP, Employment, Financial services, Government, pension, Pension Freedoms, Pension new, Pension Wise, Retirement, Ros Altmann, Tax
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