Category Archives: actuaries

Transparency as disinfectant

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?

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 , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Don’t make the teachers pay

  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

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A Pension Food Bank for the DC saver

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!

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

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Put the customer first – help the pot follow member

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

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

  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

  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

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Why employers must understand the value for money of their workplace pension

  Among the remedies leading from the FCA’s Asset Management Market Study was a clear recommendation …that both industry and investor representatives agree a standardised template of costs and charges and we propose to ask an independent person to convene … Continue reading

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Why we should be proud to invest our savings in real assets!

  My blog yesterday on USS attracted a lot of attention on social media and some interesting comment. This from Ros Altmann – a blog in its own right; Excellent piece Henry. There is insufficient differentiation in this DB debate … Continue reading

Posted in actuaries, infrastucture, investment, pensions, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments