Category Archives: defined aspiration
Can we get our business leaders to bother with pensions?
Our business leaders, a unique band of not more than a couple of thousand men (mostly), have not been leading the debate on workplace pensions. While Steve Webb and the DWP have proclaimed auto-enrolment as a transformational event, those charged … Continue reading
Maybe consumer cynicism about pensions is right..
I want to restore faith in a pensions system we were once proud of. Yesterday I wrote about the Plumbing and Mechanical Services Pension Scheme – which you can read about here. Today I am praising a brilliant pamphlet published by … Continue reading
Plumber’s Pensions are safe with Penny Plumb
It’s been a funny week; my firm, First Actuarial, has “won” a number of awards but we don’t feel particularly elated. As one of my colleagues asked me “do we know what we did right?”. Rewarding people for doing outstanding … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, annuity, auto-enrolment, dc pensions, defined aspiration, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement
Tagged Oliver Twist, Plumbing
8 Comments
Investing in the sunny uplands!
A common theme in my blogs is the frustration that people get stuck in the wrong kind of investments wrong in terms of charges, wrong in terms of management and wrong in terms of the suitability of the fund to a … Continue reading
Can pension saving really grow the economy?
Putting a stealth tax on an employer’s wage bill of 3% and frog-boiling millions to reduce their take home by up to 4% doesn’t fit comfortably with a growth strategy for the economy. Less money to spend. Many regard UK pension policy … Continue reading
Does your pension scheme need advice?
WARNING- THIS BLOG CONTAINS A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR OUR SERVICES! (transparent as always!) I’m travelling up to Nottingham this morning to talk to Employers and Trustees who are asking themselves “Does our pension scheme need advisers”. Meeting similar groups recently, the answers I’m … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, annuity, auto-enrolment, Change, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, defined aspiration, Financial Education, FSA, happiness, leadership, Linkedin, mallowstreet, Popcorn Pensions, Retirement, social media, Treasury
Tagged Business, Company, Employment, Fee (remuneration), Insurance, National Employment Savings Trust, Nottingham, pension
7 Comments
“Ambitious” pensions can save you from staging a disaster
Organisations with 500 or more employees have been written to recently by the DWP with a reminder that in 2013 they have to “stage” auto-enrolment. Companies which historically provide and promote pensions to their staff will take all this in their stride But staging … Continue reading
“The first cut is the cheapest” – transferring legacy pensions
We all know the song. The revised phrase was coined by stockbrokers who’d tell their customers to sell out of a failing stock before it’s price fell again. The phrase use to be sung to Equitable Life policyholders who hung … Continue reading
Savvy punters will drive down pension charges.
Inefficient markets – don’t you just love ’em! We all love a bargain whether at the local boot or in the stock market. There was a time when I believed I could pick a stock or a horse and beat … Continue reading
Posted in auto-enrolment, Bankers, dc pensions, defined aspiration, economics, Horse racing, leadership, Management, Martin Lewis, NEST, pensions, Retail Distribution Review
Tagged ABI, Efficient-market hypothesis, Funds, Investing, Investment, Investment management, Labour, Martin Lewis, pension, Pitt-Watson, RSA
6 Comments
“Pensions people can trust” – a proper kick in the nuts.
If we could only lift up our eyes from our spreadsheets and do some strategic thinking, we’d be grateful that Labour are trying to clean up our act. Continue reading
Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, dc pensions, defined aspiration, mallowstreet, pension playpen, pensions, Retail Distribution Review
Tagged corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, Defined benefit pension plan, Economics, Insurance, Liability Driven Investment, Pension Poverty, pensions, Politics, Retirement, Society, Steve Webb
12 Comments