Tag Archives: Infrastructure

Pensions Resurgent! The merit of the CWU’s proposals to the Royal Mail

Posted on March 16, 2017 by

For the third day I am returning to the CWU’s proposals to the Royal Mail which I now consider the most important break through in pension scheme design we have seen in Britain this century. I base this on three … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, defined ambition, defined aspiration, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We need a home ownership detox!

Posted on February 7, 2017 by

An important day for British Housing Policy Today, the Government will publish its white paper setting out its long-term housing strategy. This has implications for everyone living in the UK, including the homeless, those who rent, those who own and … Continue reading →

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

“Breaking ranks” with a pernicious orthodoxy.

Posted on December 12, 2016 by

  In a significant interview with the FT, Michael Higgins, former chair of the Pension Regulator and chair of a £12bn pension trust argues that valuing pension liabilities using the gilt yield is leading to a …. “significant misallocation of resources — … Continue reading →

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

What would you give the block chain to do?

Posted on November 12, 2016 by

Think about what you hate most. I bet work has a lot to do with it! The “toad work” as Philip Larkin used to call it! I would like to do an audit of the things I hate most at … Continue reading →

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

The Pension Dashboard – all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Posted on November 10, 2016 by

The number of pension providers who’ve paid to join the Government’s pension dashboard initiative has risen to 17. The initial pilot will be more complete because legacy pension providers like Phoenix have joined the hard core who offer new pensions … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, drawdown, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It was our Gina what done it!

Posted on November 4, 2016 by

The unexpected decision in the Supreme Court to give power to our parliament to debate the pushing of the button, created an upheaval in financial markets that had more or less given up on anything than a hard Brexit. The … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Walk on! A panegyric for May’s interventionism.

Posted on October 7, 2016 by

  This footpath is not a road – it is a footpath; it is not closed, it has been closed; it is not blocked by roadworks , the footpath is walkable but the pedestrian has to walk past some red tape. If … Continue reading →

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

Time to tell it to people straight?

Posted on September 30, 2016 by

There is no engineering miracle that will put Britain’s pensions back on track. Indeed many people have never been to the station. The guaranteed pensions that flourished at a time of high interest rates and commensurate growth in the stock market … Continue reading →

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

Hinkley Point; will anybody trust this Government now?

Posted on July 29, 2016 by

  The decision to delay the Hinkley Point project while Greg Clark “considers carefully, its implications, will send signals to those wishing to take long term decisions based on stated Government policy. It seems we have not just got a  a … Continue reading →

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

Putting the world to rights – in a snazzy waistcoat!

Posted on April 30, 2016 by

    One of the reasons that pension schemes are so boring is that they never seem to do anything. They take your money and then they give you it back, in the intervening years you are none the wiser … Continue reading →

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