Category Archives: NEST

“Mind the width – improve the quality” #Pensions must “include” properly!

Posted on December 9, 2017 by

When Guy Opperman became Pensions Minister , he had” financial inclusion” inserted into his title; now comes his challenge. According to Government statistics, there are 675,000 qualifying workers in the “savers rate” of tax, ( the tax band where we … Continue reading →

Posted in NEST, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Finger in the dyke stuff! DC pricing is just too leaky Jon!

Posted on October 10, 2017 by

Jonathan Stapleton has written a deliberatively provocative piece in Professional Pensions which will be applauded by the operators of workplace pensions but is going to get short shrift from me.   You can read  Jonathan’s opinions here. The gist of Jonathan’s … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, dc pensions, de-risking, Debt, NEST, now, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why employers must understand the value for money of their workplace pension

Posted on August 10, 2017 by

  Among the remedies leading from the FCA’s Asset Management Market Study was a clear recommendation …that both industry and investor representatives agree a standardised template of costs and charges and we propose to ask an independent person to convene … Continue reading →

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Four ways to harvest what auto-enrolment has sown!

Posted on August 4, 2017 by

We have to think how we can best support the 1m employers who have workplace pensions. Here are some solutions we’re coming to. Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, auto-enrolment, NEST, now, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Financial Planning – a minority sport.

Posted on July 6, 2017 by

    “Financial planning is a minority sport for the wealthy” – @henryhtapper @NESTInsight pic.twitter.com/HVS0EMlWHt — Talya Misiri (@Talya_PA) July 5, 2017 It was fun debating with Debate Mate and Tom McPhail – who is great mate! A sense of … Continue reading →

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“Feed and skim” – how NEST want to help the low-paid save more.

Posted on July 6, 2017 by

Thanks to NEST and their think-tank NEST Insight for a scorching day on top of the National Theatre which yielded some real thought leadership. Delighted as I was to lock horns with some very bright students (and Tom McPhail) in … Continue reading →

Posted in NEST, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

“Is it worth planning when the future’s so uncertain?”

Posted on July 5, 2017 by

Today is NEST Insight day;  it’s also TTF symposium day.  So I’ll be cycling from the City to the South Bank like Mark Cavendish (pre-crash). At the TTF event, Beccy Young and Robert Finer will be presenting the FCA Asset Management Market Study … Continue reading →

Posted in NEST, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

NEST’s dirty laundry on the line!

Posted on April 26, 2017 by

  Thanks to First Actuarial for producing this chart for this blog. Here’s how to read In 2010 when NEST opened , it had no assets – it  had quite a lot of debt (£134m* from setting up days as … Continue reading →

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Time to dig this Government out of its hole?

Posted on March 10, 2017 by

Tax, national insurance and pensions policy should be put in a vault marked “toxic” and should be handled with extreme caution. This morning I have three toxic issues to prove my point. The fiasco of announcing an increase in national insurance … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, NEST, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An algorithm cannot lie

Posted on September 25, 2016 by

  An algorithm cannot lie; it will tell you what you set it to tell you with the data you fed it. It has no choice, it is entirely deterministic;- and yet algorithms can help you lie. Let’s take a … Continue reading →

Posted in NEST, Pension Freedoms, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments