Tag Archives: Insurance

How to buy a pension

Buying your pension is one if not the biggest financial decisions you will take (or have taken). It’s fearfully difficult and most people take it with little help and – worse-information. Almost everyone is going to have to do it and that so … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, Bankers, Change, Consolation, dc pensions, defined aspiration, happiness, pensions, Public sector pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Can GPP providers be a little clearer about commission?

Someone told me yesterday that he preferred ISAs to pensions because he knew what was going on with an ISA. He’s not stupid, he’s financially literate but it turned out he knew nothing about annuities  and he asked that I blog … Continue reading

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

The 500,000 retirees abandoned by the Government

If you have purchased an annuity in the past three years of are likely to purchase one in the next three years you will be buying into pension conversion rates artificially depressed by the Government‘s quantitive easing program and by insurance … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, Bankers, corporate governance, dc pensions, Henry Tapper blog, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Now I speak actuarial

You can’t laugh out loud in the Institute of Actuaries‘ global HQ in Staple‘s Inn London. You would undoubtedly be ensnared in a giant spreadsheet and gently subsumed by toxic algorithms. Actuaries do not enjoy words, they prefer numbers and when … Continue reading

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

In the DC garden, all is not a bed of roses

I’ve been reading the latest report from the Friends Life Workplace Savings Index which you too can  read by pressing this link. The report is powered by DCisions, an organisation that crunches numbers and produces reports on people’s pension investments. I … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, Change, corporate governance, dc pensions, de-risking, NEST, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

“I felt I’d helped”

What I am most keen to do, is to make sure that the pride that drove the simple words “I felt I helped”, is remembered and used by the youngsters when times get tough again.

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Posted in Change, de-risking, Financial Education, Henry Tapper blog, pensions, Popcorn Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The cheque’s in the post

The Chancellor is due to receive a “windfall” of £25bn if plans for the Government to take over the Royal Mail pension fund go ahead. In a sleight of hand that would make David Blaine blush, this will enable the … Continue reading

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

Don’t kid people that pensions are easy

 A well-respected (and very good) pension lawyer recently posted this question on a pensions website The news from the NAPF that one in three workers may opt out of pension saving despite being automatically enrolled is depressing reading for anyone. … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, dc pensions, de-risking, Henry Tapper blog, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

How to get the pension you’ve earned

In response to some earlier blogs, Alan Higham has made this comment on a Pension Play Pen discussion thread. Alan regularly features in my thinking as does Andy Young (of the “Young report” below). Both are actuaries who have translated … Continue reading

Posted in dc pensions, de-risking, defined aspiration, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Who pays for a register of pensions?

I’ve been writing this week about the small pension policies that most of us have “lying around” in some drawer or other. Maybe they came from well intentioned pension savings plans that just couldn’t be kept up, maybe from company DC schemes that … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, Management, Martin Lewis, pensions, Popcorn Pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement, social media, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , | 54 Comments