Category Archives: Liberal Democrats

What’s this charge cap really going to cost? (1000th blog)

Posted on December 22, 2013 by henry tapper

Ringing out the old and ringing in the new should be managed with a little more responsibility than the approach adopted by the DWP through their dodgy Impact Assessment Continue reading →

Posted in club pension, dc pensions, defined aspiration, governance, Liberal Democrats, pension playpen, pensions, Popcorn Pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement | 2 Comments

NEST Insight; what the 11m+ “unpensioned” think.

Posted on January 31, 2013 by henry tapper

NEST has produced a chunky report that “takes the temperature of automatic enrolment”. This promises to be the first of a series and as the first has five years of accumulated insights to lay before us. I thoroughly recommend it … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, corporate governance, customer service, David Pitt-Watson, First Actuarial, leadership, Liberal Democrats, napf, NEST, Payroll, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Steve Webb’s good week

Posted on March 24, 2012 by henry tapper

Now anyone who can talk of a “regulatory regime which allows 1000 flowers to bloom” has got to have been taking the happy pills. Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, dc pensions, defined aspiration, Liberal Democrats, Management, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Popcorn Pensions, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Can we have a word Mr Webb?

Posted on January 14, 2012 by henry tapper

You mentioned that there should be a default position (on mallowstreet). I have argued that there is a default decumulation position, it is a level single life annuity provided by the insurer that managed your pension accumulation. This is a “pot-luck” position and many are buying appalling annuities as a result. This is at the root of what we, Robin Ellison, Con Keating, Alan Higham , the AMNT and Kevin Wesbroom, (to name but a handful of those calling for change), are trying to address. Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, Fiduciary Management, Liberal Democrats, NEST, Nick Clegg, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Pension Equality? Don’t make me laugh.

Posted on January 7, 2012 by henry tapper

Great news, – a group of civil servants (the National Audit Office) have decided to audit the work of another group of civil servants (the Pension Regulator) reporting to another group of civil servants (the DWP). The point of the audit is … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, Bankers, corporate governance, dc pensions, de-risking, Liberal Democrats, Martin Lewis, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

A necessary strike

Posted on November 30, 2011 by henry tapper

If there’s one area of consensus among the politicians this morning, it’s that the national pensions strike called for today (30th November) is unnecessary and something this country can ill afford. I disagree – this is a necessary strike, not … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, dc pensions, Liberal Democrats, NEST, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Treasury 1 DWP 0 (Steve Webb o.g. 89 minutes)

Posted on November 28, 2011 by henry tapper

I wouldn’t like to be Steve Webb this afternoon. Having protested for the past few weeks that the DWP‘s auto-enrolment timeline was carved in stone, we learn today that employers with 3000 or less employees  (for details follow this link!) will have another year or so to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bankers, Church of England, customer service, dc pensions, Liberal Democrats, Middle East, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on October 18, 2011 by henry tapper

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

Unavoidable, necessary and futile – the fight for public sector pensions

Posted on June 21, 2011 by henry tapper

Because the unions only speak for those they define as their own – they do not speak for me – nor I for them. Continue reading →

Posted in dc pensions, Liberal Democrats, NEST, Nick Clegg, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Clegg4pm- strange things happen.

Posted on April 22, 2010 by henry tapper

There is a very real possibility that Nick Clegg will become our next prime minister – albeit with no overall majority. Whether he will comes down to whether voters will retain their current sense of adventure or take fright at the prospect of something quite new. Continue reading →

Posted in Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment