Category Archives: First Actuarial

Planning for a noble and quick death?

Posted on July 29, 2017 by henry tapper

  The FT has been doing some research about what motivates people to swap a pension for drawdown. The sample may not have been big but they’re drawing a strange conclusion. The superiority of the death benefits within drawdown are … Continue reading →

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Three cheers for the FCA Asset Management Market Study

Posted on June 29, 2017 by henry tapper

I  got to read MS15/2.3 last night. It was a good read. It’s long and detailed but it’s key findings and remedies are short enough to be listed here. There are the remedies that need a little more consultation;-  that … Continue reading →

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FABI – taking the crisis out of pensions!

Posted on January 4, 2017 by henry tapper

It is now three months since we launched our First Actuarial Best estimate Index (or FAB Index for short). It has generated a significant amount of interest amongst our clients and across the wider pensions industry – and has even … Continue reading →

Posted in First Actuarial, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What do we mean by Independent Financial Education?

Posted on May 22, 2016 by henry tapper

This is an article that my firm First Actuarial have been sending to their clients. It’s so clear and simple, I thought I’d share it. Of course we’ll be sending it to Andy Haldane at the Bank of England! What … Continue reading →

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Quality Assurance from First Actuarial

Posted on April 16, 2016 by henry tapper

  Sometime you need a job done well, for me it tends to start with water pouring through a light socket after someone left the bath-tap running upstairs! A lot of the time we’re called in to do some financial … Continue reading →

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Pension Freedoms need a Pension Dashboard

Posted on March 23, 2016 by henry tapper

Jo Cumbo asks how the Pension Freedoms are bedding down. I don’t have access to the big data of an insurer but I am 54 and am now only six months from my entitlement to blow my savings on whatever I … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Education, First Actuarial, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Auto-Enrolment needs more Training and less Selling

Posted on August 1, 2015 by henry tapper

The standards adopted by those administering auto-enrolment have been high. Compliance to some complex problems that payroll, HR and pension providers have faced has been impressive. Sure there have been failures but countries (such as Ireland) reviewing the progress of … Continue reading →

Posted in First Actuarial, Management, Pension Freedoms, pensions, Pensions Regulator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can IFAs create their own profession?

Posted on July 24, 2015 by henry tapper

James Walker  has published BWD’s assessment of the prospects for firms offering financial advice as their core product. He paints a picture of rising regulatory costs and sluggish growth prospects preventing IFA practices from employing the young blood to refresh it. Last … Continue reading →

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Beware “black-box” auto-enrolment “solutions”.

Posted on July 20, 2015 by henry tapper

Katie Morley of the de Daily Telegraph has written an important article claiming that the occupational schemes set up to relieve the needy of their pension savings before retirement are now turning their sights on auto-enrolment. This may or may not … Continue reading →

Posted in First Actuarial, pensions, Pensions Regulator, Popcorn Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The perils of Pre-Selection

Posted on June 19, 2015 by henry tapper

Yesterday was dominated by one word – choice. During the day I attended the ICAEW Auto-enrolment conference with around 120 accountants. It was a very serious event, enlivened by an outburst from the floor as an accountant objected to the … Continue reading →

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