Tag Archives: ICAEW

Why I’m on FIRE! (saved enough to stop work)

Posted on June 11, 2019 by

      I’m 57 and I can choose to go to work or not – I’ve got enough and I keep on working because I love it, not because I have to. I got here through luck (being in … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, advice gap, age wage, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pensioning employee’s sleep ( with thanks to Kate Upcraft)

Posted on May 19, 2018 by

Not for the first time, I’m very grateful to Kate Upcraft for highlighting a pensions issue that impacts thousands of carers – but appears to be completely off the radar of most pension people. Kate is a freelance payroll consultant … Continue reading →

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

If I ran a master trust…

Posted on June 7, 2016 by

Not all of us run a master trust, though you might think it was Britain’s boom industry from the amount of press “master trust proliferation” has got. This blog is here for those who do, and for those who advise … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, pensions, Politics, Popcorn Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From source to sea – the consolidation of master trusts

Posted on December 15, 2015 by

  As part of some work for one of our intermediaries, I’ve been asked to make sense of the smaller master trusts and give a view on which of them are likely to be around in their current form in … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Tidings of great joy from the ICAEW

Posted on December 4, 2015 by

Auto-enrolment is a worry to accountants. Estimates are pretty consistent that around two thirds of all employers staging auto enrolment will look to accountants for compliance with auto-enrolment regulations and help with choosing and setting up a workplace pension. Unfortunately … Continue reading →

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TPR gets a kicking from Altmann on “Workplace Pension Choice”.

Posted on November 17, 2015 by

In a spectacular piece of reporting, the FT’s Josephine Cumbo has exposed a structural weakness at the centre of Auto-Enrolment;-  the failure of the Pension Regulator, the advisory trade bodies and the FCA to provide proper guidance to our 1.8m employers … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Why I’m backing the master trust assurance framework

Posted on July 16, 2015 by

Back in May 2014, the Pension Regulator launched on an unsuspecting world the ICAEW’s Technical Release “Assurance reporting on master trusts”. At the time I was dismissive of this document and the Master Trust Assurance Framework (MAF). Write in haste , … Continue reading →

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

Pension PlayPen wins AccountingWeb community award

Posted on December 20, 2014 by

This time last year I had never heard of www.accountingweb.co.uk. Yesterday I heard that I have been named their personality of the year. I am very proud and very grateful. AccountingWEB's Community Award winners of 2014, featuring @henryhtapper @NMPatel & … Continue reading →

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

Is this Master Trust Assurance Framework fit for purpose?

Posted on May 11, 2014 by

There is an important debate to be had on the regulation of master trusts. That debate is about how we prevent poor standards invading what is currently a very well run part of workplace pensions. Until the past two weeks, I … Continue reading →

Posted in dc pensions, de-risking, DWP, governance, pension playpen, pensions, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 73 Comments