Monthly Archives: July 2019

Scary news day!

Posted on July 25, 2019 by henry tapper

Scary news day! Yesterday (Weds 24th) saw the arrival of Boris Blimp in his West End townhouse and the announcement that nothing much has changed at the top of the DWP- except the SOS’ brief – which now includes equality … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, brand, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Who’s accountable for Standard Life mis-selling? – Answer; we all are.

Posted on July 24, 2019 by henry tapper

In case you missed it, Standard Life was fined £30m for allowing its staff to abuse the trust of its customers and sell them annuities that paid them a lower pension than they could get elsewhere. The fine would have … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | 3 Comments

The CMA’s “remedies” – an opportunity blown.

Posted on July 24, 2019 by henry tapper

I had rather lost touch with the progress of the CMA’s investigation into the activities of investment consultants , frankly it doesn’t seem to have been on anyone’s radar recently so the investment consultants have clearly done a good job … Continue reading →

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The impact of NDAs on pension outcomes

Posted on July 23, 2019 by henry tapper

NDAs (non disclosure agreements), have been much in the news in the past week. The government says it will crack down on the use of workplace “gagging clauses” to cover up allegations of harassment, discrimination and assault. Many businesses use … Continue reading →

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How are our retirement savings actually doing?

Posted on July 22, 2019 by henry tapper

    As indicated in the picture above, pension providers treat inquiries about past performance as carcinogenic. They do not go out of the way to tell us the value we’ve got for our money. I wonder how many people … Continue reading →

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Have pension freedoms really lost us £4bn?

Posted on July 21, 2019 by henry tapper

So many of us warned at the time that pension ‘freedoms’ were a BAD idea. We were right. Ironic then that a former pension minister who so favoured it (annuities bad, cash good) is quoted in this Times investigation bemoaning … Continue reading →

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Is Direct Investment the way forward for pension savers?

Posted on July 20, 2019 by henry tapper

  It’s a third of a century since Sid spread the word about the bargain of buying British Gas shares.  The dream of a shareholding democracy flickered, spluttered and was finally snuffed out by funds. Nowadays – direct investment in … Continue reading →

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Three reasons why we don’t need DB transfers

Posted on July 19, 2019 by henry tapper

Of all the pension freedoms, the freedom to take a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) from a defined benefit scheme came first and has done most damage to the pensions system Introduced by Norman Fowler in 1987 alongside the personal … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pension playpen, pensions | 6 Comments

Preparing for getting old

Posted on July 18, 2019 by henry tapper

  An excellent report launch. Thank you to our panel, Chair, report sponsors & event hosts. And to our guests https://t.co/l3LIXZB4vG @PeoplesPension @SOLLAadvice @dwppressoffice @dwppressoffice @DWP @MoneyPensionsUK @traverssmith @age_uk @WEALTHatwork @tish8515 @mac290964 pic.twitter.com/GFagDp3Ckb — Pensions Policy Inst (@PPI_Research) July 17, … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pensions | 2 Comments

“Your pay-rise is a pension rise”

Posted on July 17, 2019 by henry tapper

  I often “wake up to money” but not to this! In a discussion about when we last got a pay-rise, one listener mailed in that her boss told her “your pay-rise is a pension rise” It’s the first time … Continue reading →

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