Tag Archives: DWP

NEWS- Saving into a pension is what we WANT to do!

Posted on August 13, 2017 by

Well you may not find it news, but I do. I started out in 1984 selling pension policies to people who I met in Oxford Street and again at their homes. These people were promised ridiculous returns (13% pa on … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Who will champion DC savers?

Posted on August 6, 2017 by

I hear a lot of DB experts at conferences talking about transferring their “skill-set” for the benefit of DC savers; they want to transport their language – diversified growth funds, liability driven investment and glide-paths into the lingua franca of … Continue reading →

Posted in dc pensions, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Innovative pensions for the mass of us!

Posted on July 14, 2017 by

In its Retirement Outcome Review (interim report), the FCA were clear on  evidence of a problem The blame lies not with thick consumers but with lack of competition If competition is not working effectively and consumers make uninformed retirement income decisions this could lead to … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, auto-enrolment, DWP, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Department of Workplace Procrastination?

Posted on July 4, 2017 by

  Keen to dispel the impression that the DWP does absolutely nothing with its time, its new Secretary of State , David Gauke has promised that the Government “will not shy away from taking  decisions on pensions“. This  statement was made … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, Airlander, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Three cheers for the FCA Asset Management Market Study

Posted on June 29, 2017 by

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 →

Posted in FCA, Financial Conduct Authority, First Actuarial, pensions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

You want (pension) engagement? Ask Corbyn!

Posted on June 12, 2017 by

    How do you get youngsters interested in politics? How do you get youngsters interested in pensions? One and the same question IMO. Instead of sitting in “blue-sky” meetings, maybe we should be looking at what successful politicians have … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Whose department is workplace pensions?

Posted on May 27, 2017 by

At 11am on Tuesday 18th April I shook hands with Richard Harrington, our Pensions Minister and began a meeting that discussed how small businesses could in future measure how effectively their workplace pensions were working. The meeting was interrupted by … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You want to know the difference between RPI and CPI – from an expert?

Posted on May 13, 2017 by

Sometimes twitter just says wow! This is one of those times! Oh this is excellent. I mean seriously excellent. @TheActuaryMag @ProfPensions https://t.co/aJluICOIdk — Mike Harrison (@HigherEdActuary) May 12, 2017   Response to Department for Work and Pensions consultation on Security … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 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 →

Posted in auto-enrolment, NEST, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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