Monthly Archives: January 2017

We do not need another consultation on costs and charges.

Posted on January 31, 2017 by henry tapper

A report in Professional Pensions that we are to get yet another consultation on costs and charges fill me with gloom. As the report points out, we have two consultations on the subject – in progress. They follow an exhaustive call … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, actuaries, advice gap, auto-enrolment, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is pressure building on financial services?

Posted on January 31, 2017 by henry tapper

One test of populism will be the extent to which “populist” Governments take on the cost of saving and investing. We are used to “bank bashing”, they were the justifiable targets of public wrath for the savings and loans crisis, … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Seasonal workers have as much right to a workplace pension as any others!

Posted on January 30, 2017 by henry tapper

I am surprised and disappointed in the National Farmers Union, lobbying to release farmers from paying auto-enrolment contributions to short-term “seasonal” workers. We are in danger of opening the flood gates here to every part of the gig economy that … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Donald Trump… made me an alien”

Posted on January 30, 2017 by henry tapper

On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien. I am a British citizen who has lived in America for … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Morningstar questions how we’re choosing our workplace pensions

Posted on January 29, 2017 by henry tapper

  It has taken four years to hear an echo but finally it came and from an unexpected source. Sue Flood, speaking at a Morningstar breakfast seminar questioned the basis of decision making of employers choosing workplace pensions for their … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | 2 Comments

Should we invest, when we’re in debt?

Posted on January 29, 2017 by henry tapper

There’s a very good  BBC Martin Lewis Podcast on borrowing ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04qhdsg We’ve always thought as Lewis as anti-debt (an advocate of “debt-free” living). The Podcast gives as an example a man who has moved to the country with his … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cheltenham has Many Clouds

Posted on January 28, 2017 by henry tapper

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pension-playpen-at-cheltenham-2017-tickets-31149934292?aff=eac2 This blog was written while watching Many Clouds race and beat Thistlecrack. This lovely horse died as he passed the line- a bitter pill for race fans to swallow. The joy and sorrow of Cheltenham It seems impossible at this time … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Leave a comment

TPR talk tough on DC consolidation -it’s time for one nation DC!

Posted on January 28, 2017 by henry tapper

The Pensions Regulator’s “Dc Trust; presentation of scheme data, defines the state of the UK DC market” was published yesterday. http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/doc-library/dc-trust-presentation-of-scheme-return-data-2017.aspx If we could use a single word to sum it up, that word would be “messy”. To take one … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Leave a comment

Pensions + the Media (II); sanitised disruption?

Posted on January 27, 2017 by henry tapper

Ironically, the only article that I had rejected by the press last year, was an article on how pension people should deal with the press. The magazine I’d been asked to write for was not one that I read so … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Theresa – first in a very short queue?

Posted on January 27, 2017 by henry tapper

  Sometimes a cartoon will say more than words; this is such a cartoon, these are some times! Theresa May represents Britain and a set of values that are well know if not well articulated. In recent blogs I have … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments