Tag Archives: History

3000 years prove pensions are in our DNA!

Posted on August 24, 2023 by henry tapper

What a joy to read this post from Ziga. Thanks for sharing this nugget from the early 13th century. The power of a lifetime income!   A classic concept Annuities have been around since the Roman Empire.  It’s fanciful to … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The day of mourning dawns

Posted on September 19, 2022 by henry tapper

It is 6am on the day of the late Queen’s funeral. The bells of St Pauls ring above me as I think about the day ahead. Around parliament the tail of the queue wags towards Westminster’s St Stephen’s Hall, stragglers … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What if past performance was a guide to the future?

Posted on June 1, 2022 by henry tapper

  We all know the truism that you can’t predict the future by projecting the past. Henry Ford’s “History is Bunk” was the title of the first question on my S-level history exam. I remember writing then that history taught … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How modelling helps us understand and deal with the pandemic.

Posted on April 4, 2020 by henry tapper

Introduction Fighting this COVID-19 pandemic requires a good grasp on how the virus spreads, impacts health care demand and could be managed. This bulletin highlights some examples of how mathematical modelling has contributed to the understanding and intervention of this … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, coronavirus, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Same as it ever was ; for “Fowler”, read “Webb”

Posted on December 7, 2017 by henry tapper

  It was a shame Steve Webb wasn’t at last night’s excellent witness seminar on “Thatcher’s Pensions reforms”.  He would have made an able replacement for Norman Fowler who has been in bed all week with a Lergi (get well … Continue reading →

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

The Facebook timeline – a teenage diary.

Posted on March 23, 2013 by henry tapper

Facebook gives kids the space to learn who they are without the intrusion of unwanted authority. Parents, teachers, coaches and big brothers take note Continue reading →

Posted in Facebook, social media, twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

From aubergines to Amazon- the unstoppable Vivi Friedgut

Posted on January 23, 2013 by henry tapper

I had been hoping to make an Amazon bulk purchase of Vivi Friedgut’s book “Money Smarter- a Family Guide” but have been frustrated by the book’s  being virtually sold out. It’s turning into a phenomenon and is on the verge of breaking into Amazon’s top … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, auto-enrolment, Bankers, dc pensions, Financial Education, governance, leadership, Linkedin, mallowstreet, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Occupiers- what’s your big idea?

Posted on November 13, 2011 by henry tapper

Stands genius a deathless adornment,
a name not to be worn out with the years. Continue reading →

Posted in Bankers, Church of England, ezra pound, Occupy London | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Seafaring

Posted on August 23, 2011 by henry tapper

My mood ‘mid the mere-flood,
Over the whale’s acre, would wander wide Continue reading →

Posted in ezra pound, poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment