Monthly Archives: November 2015
People’s Pension announces one-off fee – world comes to an end!
If you were to read some of the reactions to the announcement yesterday by People’s Pension that they would be charging employers either £500 or £300 to set up a pension with them, you’d think that some intermediaries had just … Continue reading
“TEEN-AGE kicks” – incentivising sensible spending in retirement
“A teenage dream’s so hard to beat.. Just say those words and I’m thinking 1978, radio under the pillow – John Peel show – 11pm. But I could relive the TEEN- AGE kicks in a few years time, if that … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged auto enrolment, Business, Defined benefit pension plan, DWP, Employment, Financial services, Government, Insurance, Investment, Investment management, Life annuity, Michael Johnson, pension, Pension new, Retirement, Steve Webb, Teen-age, Teenage Kicks, Undertones
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Half-term report for AE – an excellent start – keep it up!
The press is not full of the NAO’s report on auto-enrolment, why should it be? There is no story other than the good news that auto-enrolment is working as predicted by the DWP. Why the document is important is … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged AE, auto enrolment, DWP, DWP National Audit Office, National Audit Office, NEST, Report, Retirement, The Pensions Regulator
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Advice. Implementation. Management. What service are you getting? – Guest Blog from Ralph Frank
The savings and investment industry is littered with TLAs (three letter acronyms), buzzwords and a reasonable amount of obfuscation, some intentional and some not. This uncertainty often begins at the point the investor, whether individual or institutional, starts to contract … Continue reading
Heard the one about the Englishman, the Australian and the American?
If you are a fan of such jokes, read no further – the Social Market Foundation’s (SMF) study “Golden Years? What freedom and choice will mean for UK pensioners“, contains all three characters (unsexed), but there the joking ends. This is … Continue reading
Posted in annuity, Australia, CDC, Paul Lewis, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen
Tagged annuities, Battle of Britain, Freedom and Choice, Just Retirement, Pension Sise, SCF, SMF, Social Market Foundation
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The frictionless fees that shame our name!
I have been following at a polite distance the argument among financial advisers between those pressing for fee disclosure in pounds and pence and those who would prefer to charge and disclose advisor fees as a percentage of the fund. … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged advice, advisory, Amazon, defaults, Drawdown, frictionless, IFA, spending, wealth management
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The (currently) sad state of Linked in Groups
Have you noticed how much harder it has become to find and use your linked in group? I run a number of groups, the biggest of which is the Pension Play Pen with over 7000 members. We have enjoyed steady growth … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Groups, Linked in, Moderation, Pension Play Pen, social media
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Paul Lewis and cash – tactically astute – strategically moribund!
Jon Cudby is both brave or foolish to take on Paul Lewis over Paul’s remarks at FT Adviser events over the past few weeks. As the next speaker up at two of them, I heard what Paul said, what the questions … Continue reading
When will these taxation nightmares end?
The ludicrous complexity around the 2016/17 rules for the pension annual allowance, are only part of the story! Add to them , the extraordinary complexity surrounding the use of Pension Input Periods and you have manna from heaven for pension tax … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Consultation, Green paper, HMRC, nightmare, pension nightmare, Taxation
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