Author Archives: henry tapper

About henry tapper

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

Don’t expect total fairness from the pension taxation system soon!

Steve Webb has got thee first – the rest of can thank him! He shows how middle earners are being squeezed by the fiscal drag. No one is really winning despite tax-relief going up. The worst off are the poorest … Continue reading

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“Workplace CDC” – Day 2; how’s it going?

Two things have happened in the last few weeks that will make a change. The first was the arrival of a new Government and yesterday we had the  arrival of a new type of workplace pension. First – what we … Continue reading

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American regulators- worried about what their insurance companies own to pay our wages in retirement

It is what we fear but dare not talk about because our insurance companies are increasingly owned by “their” insurance companies. We have seen it happen with banks, we don’t want to see it happen in insurance. We don’t know … Continue reading

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Jo Cumbo’s final warning as an FT journo is to high earners endangered by the pension tax-trap.

Jo has left the FT; her final day was  31st July and this was published on the 1st August. I offer it to the Pension Plowman’s readers as a memorial to a fine lady who sacrificed her night with Nick … Continue reading

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My head is full of Nick Cave – can I share him with you? (Kylie and Cave videos inc.)

This is a wonderful record of the event. Thanks to Max who has recorded what me and my party witnessed. As soon as the gates opened early afternoon, hundreds of fans were speeding across the sun-bleached grass of Preston Park, … Continue reading

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Thx Guy Opperman for getting CDC going (and to Nick Cave for our celebrations of the Code).

It’s time we remembered that Guy Opperman got the ball rolling, It may have rolled for nine years to yesterday, but we are at August 1st and into a new era for CDC. It seems to me there are a … Continue reading

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“Is it drawdown or a CDC pension for me?” asks an outsider looking in.

This comment is from an “outsider looking in” on this blog. The thought is very personal and explains why some who would have drawn down from a DC pot may prefer to be paid a CDC pension. I could chose … Continue reading

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Have we only had a Consumer’s duty three years?

The FCA’s consumer duty turns three on 31 July 2026, or two, if you consider the inclusion of legacy products its proper date of birth. Either way, it’s a toddler. But like most toddlers, it’s having a significant impact on … Continue reading

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A day in Brighton with Nick Cave

The gig I went to in the evening had a precursor on the Friday morning of his great Friday evening when Nick Cave sang the streets of Brighton. He made the Guardian with his morning set.  I had spent the … Continue reading

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For data reasons the lawyers can’t let us have a single DC savings regulator.

Hywel offers a fine observation based on the dim and distant days when he was a junior pension lawyer. It has been a long time since we had a “DC pension”. Not since the days of 226 plans where the … Continue reading

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