Category Archives: Retirement

The state of corporate advice at #casummit

  The corporate adviser summit has been held every October in a swanky hotel somewhere in the home counties. This year we are in a frightful faux castle near Horsham complete with fake arrow slits and other accoutrements of the English … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, annuity, auto-enrolment, dc pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

CDC schemes and Ponzi Schemes – a guest blog by Derek Benstead

  A tweet is long enough to write an idiocy but not long enough to make a reasoned argument. The quoted tweets from PJ Zoulias  in Henry Tapper’s recent blog say nothing meaningful to give a reasoned response to. I’ll give … Continue reading

Posted in CDC, dc pensions, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Promoting a sharing society

I am struck by the power of sharing. The Friends of auto-enrolment has no money, no official sponsor (though the CIPP are doing a great job of standing behind us) and nothing more than a name with which to make … Continue reading

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Everything you wanted to know about the AE Common Data Standard (in 500 words)

  What’s the point? There are around 30 pension providers an employer can choose to set up their workplace pension and around 40 further providers who will convert their existing workplace pension into a scheme that qualifies for workplace pension. … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, leadership, pensions, Pensions Regulator, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A buyers guide to auto-enrolment software

Some initial thoughts Auto-enrolment software exists to automate the processes your company needs to establish to stage and maintain auto-enrolment. For most employers it is another payroll headache (along with RTI) that needs a purchased solution. Normally companies purchase on … Continue reading

Posted in accountants, advice gap, annuity, auto-enrolment, middleware, NEST, now, Payroll, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Thinking slowly” with Morten Nilsson of NOW Pensions

It was a disappointment on touring the British Library on Thursday to be old that on this tour I would see no books. I had hoped to see the Nowell Codex which is the only surviving copy of the epic … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, norse sagas, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PQM – under new management, deserves a second chance

  News that Adrian Boulding has taken the chair at the Pension Quality Mark and that its new MD is crack Kiwi-saver Justine Tate, roused me to re-engage with a venture I had thought as much use as a chocolate … Continue reading

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Standard Life comes up trumps

Four years ago I sat in a crowded room in the DWP’s offices, to hear insurer after insurer refuse to commit to providing a service to small and medium sized companies, let alone the micro employers of which there are … Continue reading

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“Better workplace pensions – further measures for savers”

Recognise the title? It’s what the DWP chose to call their Command Paper on charges. This paper is not a justification for a charge cap, it’s a new framework for DC pension governance. It’s gone un-noticed but only one chapter … Continue reading

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Your life for sale – what a liquid annuity market could mean.

Why people like me get cross with him is that he is dangling carrots and waving sticks but the donkey is locked in the stable. To get the animal moving, Steve Webb or his successor is going to have to open the stable door. Continue reading

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