Category Archives: BSPS

Pension transfers- actuaries have nothing to crow about.

Posted on January 29, 2020 by

I am cross that an established firm of actuaries get on the front page of the FT for kicking IFAs for their advice on pension transfers Mark van den Berghen, principal and senior consulting actuary at Buck, a consulting firm … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, age wage, BSPS, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Put gallows humour apart – the Jingye deal looks good news for the north-east.

Posted on November 11, 2019 by

Jingye deal for British Steel expected to secure thousands of jobs https://t.co/lqGTFIob31 — Stefan #Labour:ForTheManyNotTheFew #GTTO (@SZaitschenko) November 11, 2019 There ought to be some gallows humour up at Scunny this morning. After all, the issues British Steel has had, … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, BSPS, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Why do DB transfer values make me sick?

Posted on August 29, 2019 by

One of the things ordinary people find hardest to work out is why their share of a defined benefit scheme can go up when stock markets go down. This happened last month where the stock market fell. But in August, … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, BSPS, FCA, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Do we have to wait for the car crash, before we mend the road? CP19/25

Posted on July 31, 2019 by

Around £12bn worth of DB pension pots could have been subjected to poor transfer advice, based on these FCA figures. This is over one year alone. pic.twitter.com/eUPWu8UoL0 — Josephine Cumbo (@JosephineCumbo) July 30, 2019 It is now too late to … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, age wage, BSPS, dc pensions, de-risking, pensions | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Have pension freedoms really lost us £4bn?

Posted on July 21, 2019 by

So many of us warned at the time that pension ‘freedoms’ were a BAD idea. We were right. Ironic then that a former pension minister who so favoured it (annuities bad, cash good) is quoted in this Times investigation bemoaning … Continue reading →

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New research shows BSPS transfers driven by fear not greed.

Posted on June 24, 2019 by

  I have on my google drive a piece of research conducted by one of my friends – a steelworker himself – who was one of the main pillars of support for steelworkers faced with the hard choice of whether … Continue reading →

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

British Steel – workplace pensions go missing

Posted on May 22, 2019 by

Maria Espadinha’s  excellent article in the FT’s Advisor clarifies to financial advisers that were Greybull to go into administration, there would be no impact on the new BSPS.  It’s a timely reminder as there will undoubtedly be increased vulnerability amongst traumatised … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, BSPS, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Great Pension Debate 4 – Port Talbot revisited

Posted on May 3, 2019 by

Al Rush is organising the fourth episode of the Great Pensions Debate. Here – in Al’s inimitable style, is what this is all about. You can sign up for the Great Pension Debate 4 by following this link, all you … Continue reading →

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Contingent charging – a conflict too far

Posted on April 22, 2019 by

  BSPS was always going to cause collateral damage. The aftershocks of the £3bn that left the scheme during “Time to Choose” are now being felt by financial advisers as the testimonies in this article show. The advisers are talking … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, BSPS, pensions | 2 Comments

BSPS – is the “dam breaking”

Posted on March 3, 2019 by

The imagination of Al Rush is stirred by deeds of the RAF so I smiled to see this Facebook post. Being on the other side of the planet, I had not picked up on this press release from the FCA. … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, BSPS, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments