Tag Archives: Royal London

Scary news day!

Posted on July 25, 2019 by

Scary news day! Yesterday (Weds 24th) saw the arrival of Boris Blimp in his West End townhouse and the announcement that nothing much has changed at the top of the DWP- except the SOS’ brief – which now includes equality … Continue reading →

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

“In an advised world – do workplace pensions need trustees”.

Posted on April 28, 2019 by

The quote is taken from a recent interview of Steve Webb of Royal London. It is a critical question which deserves an answer. The Workplace Pension Governance landscape (is changing) Something very odd is happening in DC Governance, something that … Continue reading →

Posted in First Actuarial, governance, pensions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Royal London IGC – the regal treatment!

Posted on April 9, 2019 by

  The 2019 IGC report – a good read I haven’t given much thought to IGC production values, but they’re the first thing you notice when you scroll through the Royal London IGC report. Someone has spent some time and money … Continue reading →

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

Affordability – is the NHS pricing people out of its pension scheme?

Posted on December 30, 2018 by

  Perhaps we are getting a little complacent about opt-outs? The FT has published research showing that opt-outs from the NHS pension scheme are running at 5 times the rate of opt-outs from the Local Government Scheme. When I first … Continue reading →

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

Some odd things about partial transfers.

Posted on October 25, 2018 by

There’s a debate going on between Al Rush, Jo Cumbo, Steve Webb and a number of others with regards partial transfers from defined benefit schemes. Want to go 50:50 with a “final salary” pension transfer? Ford will soon let employees … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, BSPS, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

How do Customers benchmark what’s good about their DC pension?

Posted on October 22, 2018 by

For employer’s it’s all been about inter-operability I’m returning to a question that has bothered me since the inception of auto-enrolment over six years ago. To begin with, it was a question for employers and could largely be answered in … Continue reading →

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

Will a “Transfer Value Comparator” work?

Posted on October 12, 2018 by

t DB transfer activity has begun to stabilise, with far more transfers being quoted and taken every quarter compared with the position before the new freedom and choice flexibilities were introduced by the Government in 2015. Bart Huby LCP Aug … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, BSPS, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Are some schemes over-paying on Transfer Values?

Posted on August 29, 2018 by

Royal London have requested and got the notorious letter sent earlier this year to certain schemes perceived to be vulnerable to pension transfers. It includes the following sections. There is nothing new about this guidance; Steve Webb is spot on … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Do IGC’s improve our value for money?

Posted on August 9, 2018 by

This is the 7th and penultimate blog , addressing the Work & Pensions Select Committee’s questions on pension transparency. This time the exam question is Are Independent Governance Committees effective in driving value for money? My short answer is that … Continue reading →

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

Royal London’s IGC comes of age

Posted on April 11, 2018 by

  I’ve been tough on the first two reports from Phil Green, Chair of Royal London IGC. I guess I am a convert third time around, as this report reads well, is stacked with useful information on Royal London’s value for … Continue reading →

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