Tag Archives: Insurance

Bill Whitehead’s drawers

I wrote last week about why we need a national register of people’s pension pots (not a clearing house or a system of enforced transfers). Re-reading the post, I can see many people will be asking “what is the issue at … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, corporate governance | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Search “my pensions”!

Steve Webb is right in reckoning we would value our personal pension saving more if it were in one big pot. He is right that this would make the job of converting pension saving into an income stream for life easier. … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, dc pensions, defined aspiration, FSA, happiness | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Sorting the pensions of the “squeezed middle”.

There are three distinct streams among those old enough to work and young enough not to, Stream One is for  those who can look forward to retirement with a degree of confidence because their employer is guaranteeing it. They are primarily … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, Bankers, corporate governance, dc pensions, de-risking, EU Solvency II, Fiduciary Management, FSA, Henry Tapper blog, Liability Driven Investment, Martin Lewis, NEST, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Fair pensions at work.

How bosses decide to be paid is not just up to them. The shareholders, those lending money to the company and – not least – the rest of the workforce have a keen interest in making sure the company’s profits … Continue reading

Posted in corporate governance, dc pensions, Occupy London, OECD, pension playpen, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ticking timebombs in the pension cupboard

When things go wrong in DC pension administration they go badly wrong. The old axiom is “right first time”. The cost of unravelling a mistake can be ruinous. Take the case of the Dutch insurer Aegon, whose UK subsidiary formerly Scottish Equitable– has had … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, Liability Driven Investment, NEST, pension playpen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chip off the old block?

My son Oliver has a blog and to my surprise has asked me to advertise it here … so here it is    http://www.tapsport-o.blogspot.com It is a strange place. He doesn’t appear to have any interest in collective DC or annuities … Continue reading

Posted in Twickenham | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Insurers find comfort in Boardroom Benefits

Earlier in the week I mentioned I was highly sceptical about corporate wrap platforms. They have become the holy grail for a magic circle of insurance companies whose business models are increasingly focusing on pandering to the boardrooms of fellow corporate … Continue reading

Posted in corporate governance, dc pensions, de-risking, EU Solvency II, Martin Lewis, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

PPF II -opening the door for a better DC

We are where we are – the social contract has been decided… not compulsion but impulsion; impulsion  into a DC pensions model that relies on the markets to deliver a second tier of pensions. Our retirements will be funded from employer and employee contributions over a … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, Liability Driven Investment, NEST, OECD, pension playpen, twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Yes – things are this bad in DC land!

We all know that equity markets have sent the value of our pension savings into free fall and some people understand that low prospective interest rates mean the amount of pension you can buy from your savings has fallen lower. But did … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, dc pensions, de-risking, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Feeding frenzy at the claims management zoo!

I was t-boned by an entrepreneurial garage owner on Saturday who , after shunting me off the road enterprisingly suggested that he would be happy to do the repairs on my car. I politely declined feeling it vaguely inappropriate. I … Continue reading

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