Tag Archives: master trust

How payroll can get pension-smart (without really trying!)

Pensions are important. They occupy our press, parliament and they occupy payroll! For better or worse we have wedded payroll to work and unless you are on a payroll, it is increasingly unlikely that you are earning much more than credits … Continue reading

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Is contract-based versus trust-based really the question? Guest Blog from Ralph Frank

Automatic Enrolment (“AE”) has resulted in an increase in Defined Contribution (“DC”) pension saving through Master Trusts (“MTs”).  This trust-based approach has overtaken contract-based arrangements, such as Group Personal Pensions, as the most popular form of DC saving.  A key … Continue reading

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The soft underbelly of master trusts

  Many master trusts are absolutely rotten – they are not fit for purpose. Lots of advisers are using them as a back door way of bringing in commission, dressed up as high governance charges. The words of Barnett Waddingham’s … Continue reading

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Who is the master? Who can be trusted? Guest blog from Ralph Frank

  There has been increasing clamour in recent times for more stringent regulation of Master Trusts.  The Government has duly obliged, tacking a Pensions Bill onto the Queen’s Speech.  The details of the Bill are currently light, although it is … Continue reading

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How we sort the master trust problem

  I sat next to someone at a meeting yesterday whose demeanour, ideas and the articulation of those ideas, was so impressive that I was at times scared to open my mouth. I felt in the presence of greatness. I’ve … Continue reading

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“PENTECH” slashes the cost of pension advice

Over the weekend I heard a mortgage broker talk about automated mortgage underwriting as “mortech” and as Investec grabbed the technology high ground some years ago, I’m going to lay claim to “PENTECH” for http://www.pensionplaypen.com. I’m proud that what was … Continue reading

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Is a Net Pay pension scheme ever suitable for those earning <£11,000pa?

@pensionmonkey Who can explain why Net Pay pension scheme is suitable for those earning <£11,000pa next yr?@PensionsSam @Henryhtapper — Ros Altmann (@rosaltmann) November 20, 2015 With this straightforward question, our Pensions Minister puts her finger on one of the central … Continue reading

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Mastertrusts – an accident waiting to happen?

How do we pay for pensions? We still know too little about what we are paying for pensions. The following statement appears on Standard Life’s website Employers can be confident that their schemes will all be compliant with the charge … Continue reading

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Why I’m backing the master trust assurance framework

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

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An alarming gap in pension regulation

In this world, the best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with a passionate intensity Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments