Category Archives: happiness

How the banks try to f*ck us – and how we deal with them

Posted on March 10, 2013 by henry tapper

It’s Sunday morning and I am reading a poem written around 1936 by Ezra Pound. It is about Usury , in this context the bad practice of the Medici Bank which Pound claimed screwed up the great artistic achievements of medieval … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, ezra pound, Fiduciary Management, Financial Education, Fred Goodwin, governance, happiness, pensions, poetry, Popcorn Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The still small voice ..and Trenton Oldfield

Posted on December 18, 2012 by henry tapper

The British nation took a dislike to Trenton Oldfield earlier in the year, we don’t take kindly to Australian nutters messing with our institutions, especially the public school  kind who claim to speak for our disenfranchised . I blogged about him when he … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, Change, defined aspiration, governance, happiness, Occupy London, Olympics, Olympics 2012, Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, religion | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hands off office Christmas parties (they’re just fine)!

Posted on December 15, 2012 by henry tapper

The sad demise of Eamonn Kilbride (46) who collapsed of a heart attack after dancing Gangnam style at his office party should not lead to a ban on middle aged men dancing. Indeed, when he has his conversation with St … Continue reading →

Posted in happiness, Henry Tapper blog, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When does a social networker become a pest?

Posted on December 9, 2012 by henry tapper

Can an obsession with connection turn you into a spammer? This is a question that has troubled me since Linkedin sent me this e-mail Hi Henry, Due to the extremely high number and percentage of rejected invitations associated with your … Continue reading →

Posted in customer service, happiness, Henry Tapper blog, Linkedin, pension playpen, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A chance to keep companies with DB pensions solvent

Posted on December 7, 2012 by henry tapper

Income and Corporation taxes tend to dominate the mindsets of the rich, they are  meaningless to those who don’t pay them. Unsurprisingly, it is the headline aspects of the Chancellor’s autumn statement that have captured the headlines. This small clause was initially … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, de-risking, happiness, napf, NEST, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

We should be proud to have an opt-out!

Posted on November 15, 2012 by henry tapper

An old friend of mine tweets me beginning “I’m a libertarian but…!” The but is an objection to the feckless being able to opt out of their pension plan. Of course she is a fascist though you cannot tell her that any … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, auto-enrolment, corporate governance, dc pensions, doctors, happiness, iphone, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Buzzword Bingo- (great post from Phil Baumann)

Posted on November 6, 2012 by henry tapper

#BigData! That’s the latest one, isn’t it? Big. Data. Alignment. Streamline. Pivot. Paradigm Shift. (This, by the way, is a misuse/misunderstanding of Thomas Kuhn‘s works). The list goes on. In fact you can create your own buzzwords with this Solution. … Continue reading →

Posted in cliche, happiness, Henry Tapper blog | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More cobblers from investment experts on DC pensions

Posted on October 31, 2012 by henry tapper

I am afraid I have to report yet more moronic thinking from the investment community showing their  disconnect with the ways and means of everyday folk. Example one is from Lyxor, who used to be called Societe Generale until they screwed … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, Bankers, club pension, Consolation, dc pensions, defined aspiration, happiness, Liability Driven Investment, mallowstreet, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts, Public sector pensions, with-profits | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Why we need to say “NO” to pension guarantees!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by henry tapper

On Monday the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries delivered a paper stating that it would be able to deliver a system of lock-in guarantees at a price of less than 1% pa of the fund that could be used by … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, annuity, auto-enrolment, Bankers, club pension, corporate governance, customer service, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, defined aspiration, EU Solvency II, FSA, happiness, Liability Driven Investment, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Club Pension!

Posted on October 22, 2012 by henry tapper

Words resonate in strange ways and when they come in pairs new resonances emerge. Last week, Martin Lewis called “pension” a broken brand (worrying to the owner of the Pension Play Pen). The idea behind the word “club” seems to be under … Continue reading →

Posted in club pension, Financial Education, happiness, Henry Tapper blog, Martin Lewis, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments