Category Archives: actuaries

New torment for investment consultants – Mike Foster.

Posted on September 16, 2017 by

  Mike is a senior consultant at Montfort Communications. Until recently he was assistant editor at Financial News and that journalistic pedigree shines through in this remarkable piece of writing. Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind … Continue reading →

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Workplace Pension winners and losers- Punter Southall Aspire do the numbers (Now with added NEST!)

Posted on September 13, 2017 by

Employers selecting DC default investment funds for their workforce pensions assume they’re making a wise investment choice. However, a new report, ‘Who’s performing well?’ from Punter Southall Aspire, which examined nine major DC pension providers’ default pension funds in their … Continue reading →

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Transparency as disinfectant

Posted on September 8, 2017 by

Wherever possible – organisations should aspire to be transparent in their dealings, sharing information with all stakeholders. Bank wins by being straight with customers Making information difficult to access causes problems. My friends at Quietroom tell the story of how, … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, actuaries, advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

What future – if we cannot rely on universities in twenty years time?

Posted on September 4, 2017 by

When I wrote my blog yesterday, I had not read the USS consultation document which contains the basis of the triennial valuation it has just completed. I was writing “over” the FT article written by Jo Cumbo which (as usual) presented … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, Henry Tapper blog, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Don’t make the teachers pay

Posted on September 3, 2017 by

  I am  sad to read that “academics face a big rise in their pension payments”. That’s the headline in the FT and it may be true. Another set of spurious numbers? The University Superannuation Scheme has completed it’s three … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, actuaries, advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A Pension Food Bank for the DC saver

Posted on August 24, 2017 by

Ok – so it’s not a big news week for pensions , but well done Jack Gilbert of Citywire’s New Model Adviser for getting a meet with Frank Field, and well reported on what I can only call a “welcome … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, actuaries, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

“We dislike pensions but we don’t distrust them”- thoughts from comrade Gregg!

Posted on August 23, 2017 by

One of the pleasures of living in the City of London is the early evening beer with City slickers. City slicker Gregg McClymont and I had a pint or two in the Fine Line last night and caught up after … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Put the customer first – help the pot follow member

Posted on August 21, 2017 by

I have recently been passed the slides of the PLSA?ABI+++ workshop on creating a common way for pension  pots to follow members. You can find them here. What a mess we are making of something so very simple! Here is … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, actuaries, auto-enrolment, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“What’s the purpose of a pension scheme?” – Con Keating

Posted on August 16, 2017 by

  Con Keating argues in this piece that pension schemes aspire to “self-sufficiency”, giving them the status of  insurance companies. His thinking centres on what claims we have on schemes if the covenant to fund these schemes is lost. His conclusions … Continue reading →

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Reaching the places advice cannot reach

Posted on August 15, 2017 by

  Only a handful of pension providers have adapted their systems to allow people to use the Pension Advice Allowance. The pension advice allowance, introduced in April, allows pension savers to take £500 tax-free from their retirement funds to help … Continue reading →

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