Category Archives: Consolation
The elephant in the care home
New paper looks at early evidence of care home mortality in different countries. Provisionally concludes that about half (42% to 57%) of COVID-19 deaths are taking place in care homes. As a reminder, the 11,329 deaths announced by DHSC are … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, advice gap, Consolation, coronavirus, pensions
Tagged Care Homes, Coronavirus, COVID19, Covid19actiongroup, death rates, ONS
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From helping your clients to helping yourself.
The severity of the falls in stock market put in jeopardy the revenues of asset based businesses. Put simply, if the markets fall 50%, so do revenues. What were profitable business models become unprofitable and sooner or later costs catch … Continue reading
Posted in Consolation, coronavirus, pensions
Tagged Business, clients, costs, Plan, Plan B
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Resilience.
A different perspective? The FTSE is on sale…… pic.twitter.com/KcdNv0vTG4 — Holly Mackay (@HollyAMackay) March 9, 2020 I am sure Holly’s graphic shouldn’t be taken as financial advice , though some will try to catch a falling knife. We have no … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, age wage, Blogging, BSPS, Consolation, defined ambition, pensions
Tagged CDC, DB transfers, pensions, Port Talbot
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Do we long-term care?
There’s an elderly care crisis in the UK. Action must be taken now, or the country’s ability to look after elderly people will collapse by 2029. Our report with @cebr_uk looks at why this has happened, and what we can … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, advice gap, age wage, annuity, Consolation, pensions
Tagged Aviva, Care annuity, Irwinn Mitchell, Just, Legal & General, long term care, pension annuity, pensions
4 Comments
The trusted word
This is the model for what we are doing with Pension PlayPen, an attempt to harness the energy and credibility of a linked in group, the probity of an actuarial practice and the needs of advisers, employers and regulators to see through a great endeavour, the wholesale adoption of funded workplace pensions into our business culture.
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Posted in actuaries, advice gap, Consolation, First Actuarial, Linkedin, mallowstreet, poetry, Retirement, welfare, workplace pensions
Tagged Business, Financial services, Government, Linked in, pensions, social media, twitter, YouTube
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Imaginary terror exposed
The decision by the House of Commons not to agree (even in principle) to Britain’s military intervention in Syria was surprising and uplifting. There will be three immediate consequences. 1. We will not open yet another front on the war … Continue reading
Posted in Change, Consolation, Syria, welfare
Tagged Cameron, chemical weapons, Hague, parliament, Syria, terror, terrorism, war
4 Comments
The Vision of the Plowman
The “Vision of the Pension Plowman” is a bastardisation of the title of a 14th century english Poet (William Langland’s) great poem, “the Vision of Piers Plowman”. In this great book, the Plowman falls asleep by a stream and dreams … Continue reading
Time for action on pension fund costs.
It is in everyone’s interest to clean up pensions. Whether you are a fiduciary or a practitioner, whether you regulate or run a trade body, if you want a healthy respected industry in 20 years, you need to change your attitude/practice/tolerance now.
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Posted in actuaries, brand, CDC, Consolation, pensions, target date funds
Tagged charges, costs, hidden, reputation
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Pension agnostic?
An “agnostic” is someone who knows he cannot know and so gives up trying to find out. You hear the phrase “pension agnostic” bandied around at the moment, mainly from the providers of ancillary services that help companies auto-enrol. If you key … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, Consolation, corporate governance, dc pensions, defined aspiration, Fiduciary Management, Financial Education, First Actuarial, hargreaves lansdowne, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement
Tagged Business, Employment, Financial adviser, Financial services, Human Resources, National Employment Savings Trust, pension, Saving
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Never mind the width – feel the quality!
In the heyday of occupational pension provision, offering membership to a company pension scheme sent a clear message to staff that the company was confident in its future and cared for its human resource. When defined benefit schemes were first … Continue reading