Category Archives: accountants

How the autumn statement will effect pensions and pensioners

There were no big pension surprises in this autumn statement but the Chancellor managed to squeeze some savings from auto-enrolled workers and pensioners. All eyes now turn to the 2016 Budget where the Chancellor is expected to make an announcement … Continue reading

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Preparing for an auto-enrolment capacity crunch.

The Telegraph is running a story suggesting that the DWP are drawing up a plan B for auto-enrolment that could see the timeline for initial staging stretch to the next decade. Nannies, gardeners and staff at small firms may not get … Continue reading

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Pro Bono – remember that? Hat’s off to ICPA and QTAC

I’ve been blogging recently about failure The failure of the Investment Association to align itself with the interests of its ultimate customers- consumers The failure of the NAPF to engage with employers not in the club (namely the 1.8 m … Continue reading

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Does drawdown need a charges cap for pension drawdown

This post was written a few months ago but never published. The main thrust is still relevant, the thrust is that we are better off building better and more relevant products than trying to squeeze drawdown into a shirt two … Continue reading

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Simplifying AE – why the workforce assessment IS worth it

The Government is calling for ideas to simplify auto-enrolment.  I had an interesting discussion with a senior payroll policy lobbyist yesterday. She argues that the “workforce assessment” is too problematic to become part of the normal payroll function of Britain’s … Continue reading

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“A question of trust”- accountants and auto-enrolment pensions.

I’m not going to quote Einstein’s definition of insanity as that would be madness. To understand how tactical short-cuts spiral into destruction look at what PPI has done to the share price of our high-street banks This blog is for accountants who … Continue reading

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Why due diligence is soooooooo important!

  Yesterday I wrote about pension charges and the difference between poor practice and malpractice . At some point the value for money swing-ometre  tips into rip-off territory and it’s almost always when those managing its costs of a scheme, stop acting … Continue reading

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The Plowman gets off his high-horse!

Yesterday I published an article that allowed me to get off my high horse about “informed choice” and think pragmatically about how small employers are going to go about choosing a pension. I reckon most people like choice , but … Continue reading

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Two thirds of SMEs are pension virgins.

New research is out on the purchasing intentions of the remaining 1.2m employers who aren’t “in” to auto-enrolment. Of the  SMEs surveyed who are yet to stage, two thirds (66%) don’t have any existing pension arrangements for their staff while … Continue reading

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Knowing the “money” in “value for money”.

At last we may get to know what we really pay for the management of our funds so we can work out it it’s worth it. Continue reading

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