Monthly Archives: December 2016
Workplace pensions – what really matters.
For the past few years I have provided data and qualitative judgement to NMG, a company that researches insurance companies and the service they provide intermediaries. The information NMG has asked of me has been about my perception of those … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Corporate IFA, EBC, IFA, IGC, Independent Governance Committees, NMG, Technology, workplace Pensions
5 Comments
A new pension deal for the self- employed
In April 2015, the Government announced it intended to abolish class 2 National Insurance Contributions and replace them with a new system for the payment of Class 4 NICS. On 5th December they published more detail. Broadly this will mean … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged angela knight, DWP, National Insurance, Office for Tax Simplification, OTS, pensions, Philip Hammond, self-employed, Treasury
Leave a comment
Beyond payroll – where AE gets tricky
Legitimising off-payroll workers Off-payroll workers (AKA personal service workers) are not moon-lighting benefit scroungers, they are part of the outsourcing process that ensures Government Departments and private employers can manage services effeciently. But the rules that govern the status of … Continue reading
2016
When we entered 2016 we were fully expecting a major reform of pension tax relief, auto-enrolment to fall over and austerity. We have ended the year with our pension system much as it was but with the economy in … Continue reading
So what about 2017?
2016 turned out to be a relatively uneventful year for pensions (despite all the noise). 2017 looks to have the hallmarks of disruption all over it but whatever happens to pensions will be eclipsed by the wider implications of our … Continue reading
“The pension transfer lottery” – thoughts from a PlayPen lunch.
At a consumer level, the absurdity of pension deficit volatility, seemed to me abstract and notional. But yesterday’s Pension Play Pen lunch changed that. One of our party reported that the value of his cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) changed … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Actuary, CETV, pension, Pension Transfer, regulation, TPR, Transfer
3 Comments
More market consistent follies – Con Keating on DB and DB transfer values
Today we’ll be looking at DB transfer values at our pension play pen lunch. Con can’t be there but has asked that his thoughts be fed into the debate- here they are These past few weeks, two new subjects have … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, pensions
Tagged Con Keating, defined benefits, inter-generational fairness, pension, Transfeers
Leave a comment
Ignore “bad “; let’s big-up good asset management!
The asset management industry will get nowhere trying to defend bad practices. It should be celebrating its success stories. We have good active managers in this country and we have good passive managers, protecting bad practice among bad asset managers … Continue reading
Posted in consultant, corporate governance, customer service, pensions
Tagged Fundsmith, Investment Association, LGIM, Martin Dietz, Michael Johnson, Terry Smith
3 Comments
Why are DB transfers out of control? Pension PlayPen lunch – Monday 5th Dec
DB TVs have never been so big! Is it a case of “transfer now while bond yields are low?”. Henry is back in charge of the pension play pen lunch this Monday and we’ll be meeting at the Counting House … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Leave a comment
Is the USA the model to recover our DB deficits?
This article was published on October3.com and reports how American pension finances are recovering through perseverance in growth assets and from an uptick in interest rate projections. Just how relevant it is for the UK- I’ll leave for you to … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged defined benefit, Interest rates, liabilities, pensions, Trump, USA
Leave a comment