Category Archives: Australia

Australia gets tough on DC funds and so should we

Australia is facing up to some tough questions and it is asking the questions we need to ask. For example, should we assume that all ESG investments  a good thing, or are some more beneficial to pension savers than others? … Continue reading

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Don’t cash-out your pension #buildbackbetter !

This blog is about how we make sure we have enough cash to pay the bills (including the butcher’s bills) Cashing out pensions – the lure In its recent policy statement (P20/6), the FCA leaves two carve-outs (loopholes) for advisers … Continue reading

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Helping people understand their pensions

Last night I spoke to a group of potential investors about AgeWage, they were mainly senior doctors. I thinkthey got it. I hope that you will understand our vision for more understanding of pensions. Here are the slides Here is … Continue reading

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Aussie’s are “Super Pension Savvy” – why aren’t we?

As most people (in pensions) know, Australia has a thriving retirement savings industry that works because there is a social contract between Government, Unions and Employers to fund workers pensions at ever-increasing amounts. I don’t want to do a teach in – … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, Australia, auto-enrolment, cricket, dc pensions, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How do we auto-enrol workers in the “gig economy”?

A gig economy is an environment where temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The trend toward a gig economy has begun The consultancy McKinsey  reckon that some 162 million people in Europe and America work independently. … Continue reading

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(Workplace) Isa ain’t gonna wash for a week!

  A radical idea Michael Johnson has published his proposal for a workplace ISA, Michael has explained this to me before and has explained his proposals publicly to the DWP Select Committee. The proposal is not just to include an ISA … Continue reading

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Heard the one about the Englishman, the Australian and the American?

If you are a fan of such jokes, read no further – the Social Market Foundation’s  (SMF) study “Golden Years? What freedom and choice will mean for UK pensioners“, contains all three characters (unsexed), but there the joking ends. This is … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, Australia, CDC, Paul Lewis, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“How were those freedoms for you?” – Two events to help us find out!

The press offices of all the major insurers have been busy printing announcements of how they have seen a tenfold increase in enquiries about pension benefits this week. Pension Wise has been open for bookings and Michelle Cracknell and the TPAS … Continue reading

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Don’t underestimate SME’s hunger for investment know-how!

I am  frustrated by the capitulation of many in the pension industry to the challenge faced by inducting 1.2m new employers into our funded pension culture. The Pension Apartheid practiced by the investment elite At a recent event, Joanne Segers, CEO … Continue reading

Posted in Australia, Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Education, First Actuarial, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions, Pensions Regulator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freddy Flumper gets savvy!

  It’s been some days since I’ve reported on the fabulous Freddy Flumper -“fabulous” in the sense that he lives only in the fable on this blog. For anyone who missed the instructive fable of Freddy and Tony Lamborghini , we … Continue reading

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