Author Archives: henry tapper

About henry tapper

Founder of the Pension PlayPen,, partner of Stella, father of Olly . I am the Pension Plowman

We don’t opt in to paying for our old age care! Would you opt out of optional insurance?

  There are awful things that beset the old. Dementia is our great mental fear.  There are long and frightening physical complaints that require care. There are people who die easily. People have state, public and private pensions and in … Continue reading

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The annuity puzzle – why’s it so divisive?

There is banter behind my back! It relates to the annuity puzzle. You want to know what that is? Please read on! Most “experts” reckon annuities are better value for their money than they were. But I don’t get the … Continue reading

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Consistency needed for “expected income” from the pension dashboard.

Here is the paragraph from DWP that could mean most to those using the Pension Dashboard (IMO) 20. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is working closely with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to explore the development of standardised … Continue reading

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Aussie guru Bec Wilson tells us how to work out how much we need for retirement

This morning I’ve been reading the various views of those who consider themselves pension experts. Standard Life suggest that the solution to what Bill Sharpe called the nastiest hardest problem as the purchase of a level annuity. David Prosser suggested … Continue reading

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The AIC’s solution to the nastiest problem in finance

This article is from the Association of Investment Companies.  It would  interest  me to know whether education of this type has any influence on those , outside the readership of the AIC’s website. Good as the article is, it is … Continue reading

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Sensible solutions to social care.

The last time that the question being asked by Patrick Jenkins was being addressed by “financial services companies” (like Commercial Union) , was in the early days of the 1990s when as an IFA I discussed with mature clients investing … Continue reading

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An “unreal” annuity story told by insurers.

First of all the good news; annuity rates give us the best deal since we had an economic collapse in 2008. Annuity rates have reached an 18-year high of 7.75%, according to the Standard Life Annuity Rate Tracker. Second of … Continue reading

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Do you need to be at work to be “at work”?

I am surprised that this is still a matter of debate. If as an organisation you are paying a rental or at least rates for a premises, you must believe there is advantage in having people come to work. UK’s … Continue reading

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Keep me in the rapture of – Heaton, Lemper and Cave – oh and those proms!

I am still in recovery from the experience in Brighton on the last day of July. I am not talking about the publication of the CDC Code by the Pensions Regulation or the departure of Josephine Cumbo from the Financial … Continue reading

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Fraud Compensation Fund and the SFO

  This is a blog by the unstoppable Angie Brooks and can be found in its original on her Pension Life website (link to the article is here). The biggest problem in financial services worldwide – for the past 16 … Continue reading

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