Monthly Archives: July 2017

Who wins from platforms?

Posted on July 18, 2017 by henry tapper

    I enjoyed reading the FCA’s Terms of Reference for its Platform Market Study, it posed many questions and I’m looking forward to the answers. Few investors properly understand what platforms are , what they do and  how much they … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Pension = Wage for life

Posted on July 17, 2017 by henry tapper

Sloppy journalism confusing readers. A quick scan of the Daily Telegraph’s Money Pages leaves me hopeless at its hapless reporting of pensions. Somebody should sit down with the whole personal finance team and read them the riot act. Take Mike … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

@ShareActionUK – so much with so little!

Posted on July 16, 2017 by henry tapper

    t At the beginning of last week I went to the Institute of Directors to see various “think-tanks” congratulate each other on their thinking- typically carried out in plush Mayfair offices at the expense of a Foundation set … Continue reading →

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A wage in retirement or freedom from pensions?

Posted on July 15, 2017 by henry tapper

Yesterday I wrote about one aspect of the dispute between Royal Mail and its workers – the difference in opinion between the two sides on how postal workers are financially supported in retirement. It appears very simple; Royal Mail want to … Continue reading →

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

Postmen want to strike – is it any wonder?

Posted on July 14, 2017 by henry tapper

Maybe it’s because they’ve been reading the FCA’s report on Retirement Outcomes. Maybe the FCA have been talking with them. Either way, the 140,000 postal workers in the Royal Mail scheme don’t want a pension when they pack up their … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Innovative pensions for the mass of us!

Posted on July 14, 2017 by henry tapper

In its Retirement Outcome Review (interim report), the FCA were clear on  evidence of a problem The blame lies not with thick consumers but with lack of competition If competition is not working effectively and consumers make uninformed retirement income decisions this could lead to … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, auto-enrolment, DWP, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

This market failure’s not about advice but product.

Posted on July 13, 2017 by henry tapper

  The FCA paper on structural problems with the pension freedoms that I wrote about yesterday, is the first evidence of Government admitting all in this garden is not rosy. What has happened since 2015 is an increase in people hammering … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, CDC, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Freedoms;- the Treasury got us into this mess, can the FCA get us out?

Posted on July 12, 2017 by henry tapper

  It is good that the FCA are looking at the introduction of Pension Freedoms through experience. Here’s what they’re finding. Over half – 52 per cent – of fully withdrawn pots were not spent but were moved into other savings … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Why I feel sorry for Matthew Taylor.

Posted on July 12, 2017 by henry tapper

You can’t help feeling sorry for Matthew Taylor. He took a job with some certainty that he would get the support of his Prime Minister and while Theresa May turned up for his press conference, her speech was more about her … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | 1 Comment

Social Housing? Pensions? Read this!

Posted on July 11, 2017 by henry tapper

    This is from my main man, Neal Thompson. Neal is sh*t off a shovel when it comes to this stuff. Much the most knowledgeable fellow I’ve ever met on social housing and pensions. Devonshires are one of those … Continue reading →

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