Tag Archives: Pension Freedoms

Cridland and the price of state dependency

Posted on March 23, 2017 by henry tapper

  John Cridland’s consultation report into the state pension age, commissioned by Ros Altmann and delivered today, does not say quite what the modernisers wanted it to. Accelerated pension ages and the scrapping of the triple lock deliver a double … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why we are all regulators

Posted on March 19, 2017 by henry tapper

A regulator is generally a device that maintains a designated characteristic in a system. In a financial sense, it ensures that the rules that govern our dealings are understood, maintained and enforced. We have regulation because we value a system … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, Blogging, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Are defaults enough? Or do we need compulsion?

Posted on March 7, 2017 by henry tapper

  Well I’m back from 10 days in India where I saw the very rich and the very poor but not much in the middle. I saw some very fine architecture which showed me what can be done when people … Continue reading →

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

Is there any “challenge” to this Pension Dashboard?

Posted on February 14, 2017 by henry tapper

I was invited yesterday to the Treasury’s “Challenge Panel” , held to discuss the proposals for the pensions dashboard, a prototype of which will emerge next month. Actually, I wasn’t invited – I went in someone else’s place. I went … Continue reading →

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

Long term sustainability of DB schemes (First Actuarial bulletin)

Posted on October 31, 2016 by henry tapper

First Actuarial publish bulletins helping staff, clients and the wider markets to understand what’s going on. This is the 31st October bulletin. If you’d like to subscribe to this bulletin we will put you on our mailing list – please … Continue reading →

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

Please don’t die-I was enjoying your annuity!

Posted on October 19, 2016 by henry tapper

News that Government has finally put the Secondary Annuity Market down is no surprise. It was one of Steve Webb’s worst ideas and has proved about as popular as Osborne. Economically, the creation of a market in annuities is a … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Floundering in the dark – the PP DC Conference

Posted on September 8, 2016 by henry tapper

De profundis It was a beautiful day and it was a great hotel. But I left the Professional Pensions Defined Contribution Conference profoundly depressed. Perhaps I needed  lux in tenebris (see the progress that is being made elsewhere). The problems created … Continue reading →

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

Good retirement outcomes depend on collective solutions

Posted on July 17, 2016 by henry tapper

The FCA have called for evidence on the likely success of our current “at retirement” strategy, this response is consistent with what this blog has been saying for some years, collective problems need collective solutions, the market is not enough, … Continue reading →

Posted in CDC, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, defined ambition, defined aspiration, FCA, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A state of funk! Occupational DC and the pension freedoms.

Posted on March 26, 2016 by henry tapper

The Pensions Regulator has published an excellent paper outlining the current position of occupational pension schemes towards providing their members with pension freedoms. You can read it here and for its clear language, well developed argument and comprehensive understanding of the … Continue reading →

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

Pension Freedoms need a Pension Dashboard

Posted on March 23, 2016 by henry tapper

Jo Cumbo asks how the Pension Freedoms are bedding down. I don’t have access to the big data of an insurer but I am 54 and am now only six months from my entitlement to blow my savings on whatever I … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Education, First Actuarial, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments