Tag Archives: Standard Life

Can these insurers become useful to pension savers again?

Posted on January 14, 2023 by henry tapper

    Time was when people regarded a pension as an insurance against getting old, right now insurers compete with master trusts and SIPPs for the nation’s retirement saving and the staple features that made them indispensable seem increasingly irrelevant. … Continue reading →

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Assessment of 2021 IGC reports – a boring read but an important one!

Posted on October 23, 2022 by henry tapper

Despite the efforts of the FCA to make IGC reporting more relevant to ordinary savers, I found this crop of IGC reports were bland and unambitious in their reporting of VFM. No IGC suggested that  value for money was not … Continue reading →

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Standard Life’s IGC report – too long , too angry and wrong!

Posted on October 8, 2022 by henry tapper

Standard Life has produced a bumper 162 age IGC report – a kind of shock and awe statement from David Hare – which is issues together with IGC reports for other Phoenix insurers – Phoenix  and ReAssure. They get 100 … Continue reading →

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The real cost of buying a pension for your household

Posted on September 26, 2022 by henry tapper

New analysis of government figures by Standard Life, , highlights that the average retired couple has a pension income worth £284 per week – made up of both occupational and private pension income – excluding state pension income. *Figures assume … Continue reading →

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The 2021 IGC reports – links, reviews and ratings

Posted on August 10, 2021 by henry tapper

I’ve completed my review of the 2020 IGCs and GAAs – 15 reviews of the reports I know of. It you run an IGC or GAA that I’ve missed, please send me your report. I doubt many IGCs have met … Continue reading →

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Standard Life’s IGC’s filibuster

Posted on August 5, 2021 by henry tapper

Who do IGC chairs write their chair statements for? It was a question I discussed yesterday with an IGC chair. Every IGC report states that it is written solely for members but any member who opens the link to the … Continue reading →

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When an insurance company gives a damn…

Posted on March 16, 2021 by henry tapper

I’m used to the fake smiles from marketing executives on conference stands and the unctuous statements about customer care that leak from the pens of IGCs and trustees. I have grown skeptical (even cynical) about cultural statements about treating customers … Continue reading →

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Whatever happened to the Standard Life?

Posted on February 12, 2021 by henry tapper

Life insurance companies are not in favour and haven’t been for some time. The consolidation of the sector around a few financial behemoths L&G, Aviva,  Royal London , Prudential , Quilter , Aegon , Just and LV= leaves no trace … Continue reading →

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Putting our money where their mouth is? We’re not there yet!

Posted on February 2, 2021 by henry tapper

Last night I had the chance to listen to the Lord Mayor’s lecture – organised by Gresham College which is a few yards from where I live. If this had happened last year, I would not have been invited or … Continue reading →

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Pension Plowman’s guide to 2020 IGC reports

Posted on April 12, 2020 by henry tapper

This is a big year for IGCs. It is their fifth birthday, it’s the year when the FCA reviews their effectiveness and it’s the year of the pandemic, where providers and savers will be under maximum strain. Most of the … Continue reading →

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