Category Archives: corporate governance

Ticking timebombs in the pension cupboard

When things go wrong in DC pension administration they go badly wrong. The old axiom is “right first time”. The cost of unravelling a mistake can be ruinous. Take the case of the Dutch insurer Aegon, whose UK subsidiary formerly Scottish Equitable– has had … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, Liability Driven Investment, NEST, pension playpen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pension power! Is your employer doing enough?

Most people who read articles about pensions earn their living from pensions – managing the benefits or the investments, setting the things up or closing the things down. Most of the people who benefit from pensions do not (sadly) read … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, Facebook, mallowstreet, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, social media, twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wrong is right…. Guest Blog by Steve Delo

The financial crisis has changed the financial landscape and had a dramatic impact on all investment decision making. Slap bang in the firing line are company pension schemes. And if you’re a trustee of such a scheme, you have onerous responsibilities, … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, NEST, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Now Pensions – Danegeld ,fools gold or a new beginning?

The sooner they can publish the detail the better.

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Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, mallowstreet, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Perverse incentives; Sexycash or prudent pension?

The problem we all face when we are asked to choose between cash or pension is very complicated. It is possible to put a cash price on a pound’s worth of pension but that’s just the beginning of the story. … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, mallowstreet, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Rising to Beecroft’s challenge- can we make pensions work for micro-employers?

Scanning the Pension Press as one does when having breakfast these days, I came across an excellent piece of reporting on Pension Insight (fast becoming one of  the best on-line pension publications). New laws are to be introduced which will … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, Fiduciary Management, mallowstreet, NEST, Nick Clegg, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Will the Big Society sort pensions?

When people get to their sixties, they are faced with some big choices. There are life-style choices as they face up to their bodies not being able to do what they once did and their brains not being quite as quick as they … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, Fiduciary Management, NEST, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sexy cash for pensions – Politician nearly loses his patience

No matter how blameless Stevie may be, he’s only as good as his team. He protests that the DWP and the Treasury are the best of mates; the malpractice exposed like Alan Higham smacks of the DWP getting a little too close to the “dark side”. Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, NEST, Nick Clegg, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Getting away with murder on the Orient Express

My Dad’s recently had his 80th, my Mum’s not far behind so I thought I’d give them a treat, a day on a train eating a five course meal with champagne and all the trimmings – £500 but with the Orient Express … Continue reading

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Ah- Vested Self Interest – that’s alright then!

We have a brace of fine headlines this week – Citywire report that Standard Life believe that ISAs should be part of the auto-enrolment mechanism and some SRI peddlar is reported on twitter extolling the need for auto-enrolment to include some seriously socially responsible investment. No … Continue reading

Posted in corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, Liberal Democrats, NEST, pensions, Retirement, Treasury, twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment