Category Archives: advice gap
DWP frees up workplace pension defaults – can providers be trusted?
It looks like the high-water mark for Government intervention in workplace pensions has been reached. The years following the introduction of the RDR saw the abolition of sales commissions (both for introducing members and setting up schemes), of “active member … Continue reading
Value for money is priceless – it cannot be bought or sold
I am a fan of David Hutchins and when he writes, as he writes in Pension Expert, on value for money (VFM) – I read. I read but I don’t always agree and I certainly don’t agree with the … Continue reading
Michael, it’s not Auto-Enrolment’s that’s failing low-earners!
“Automatic enrolment is failing many low earners. Millions of them are both serial borrowers via consumer credit, paying APRs in excess of 30%, and auto-enrolled into default funds typically targeting an annual real return of under 3%. The DWP should … Continue reading
Is Bitcoin an asset?
My answer is “yes” and “no”. At the most fundamental, Bitcoin is a means of meeting financial obligations – it can be used to pay for things and is recognized as currency. It has been likened to gold, as … Continue reading
Write from your heart not to get read – and you’ll get read!
This blog does not indulge in maudlin retrospection and I am not about to publish a list of the my top 20 blogs of the year. I write for me and not my readership and though I’m very grateful … Continue reading
Michael Johnson challenges the Nest Sidecar (Jars) project
The Nest Sidecar project (now renamed “Jars”) has been sponsored by a number of leading financial services companies and some major employers (including Timpsons and BT). This blog is an open letter to the Nest management from Michael Johnson, in … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, age wage, NEST
Tagged Helen Dean, Jars, Michael Johnson, NEST, pension, Pensions, Sidecar
2 Comments
Managing and measuring DB schemes (Keating, Tilba and Clacher)
With the intention of keeping the Pension Regulator focused, Keating and Clacher have recruited Dr Anna Tilba of Durham University to their ranks. A powerful triumvirate of pension intellectuals whose latest blog is an antidote to the toxicity of pseudo … Continue reading
Posted in accountants, actuaries, advice gap
Tagged Con Keating, David Fairs, Dr anna tilba, Durham, Iain Clacher, Leeds, merry christmas, TPR, Warwick
5 Comments
Saving our way to a fairer society..
Thanks a second time to Michael Johnson for asking a salient question about recently published data If we compare four months in 2019 and 2020 we see a £20.5 billion behavioural swing: At the end of February 2020, total outstanding … Continue reading
If the poor can’t save in this pandemic, when can they save?
Yesterday I wrote about Nest Insight’s sidecar savings project (now mysteriously called “Jars”). The article caught the eye of Michael Johnson who graphically reminded me of the most effective means ever of increasing the savings ratio. So – covering … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, advice gap, age wage
Tagged Jars, Michael Johnson, NEST insight, OECD, Pensions, Sidecar
3 Comments
Bigger Pots and Bigger Pensions through Open Finance
‘Breaking Banks: A blueprint for Open Finance that puts customers first’ puts forward a series of recommendations to help create a functional Open Finance ecosystem in a post-Brexit economy. Within the report, COADEC calls for the UK government to break … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, Dashboard, dc pensions
Tagged Coadec, open finance, Pension Bee, Pension Dashboard, pension dashboards, Pensions
1 Comment