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    From Ros Altmann:economist and pensions,
    investment and retirement policy expert

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    Author: Ros Altmann

    Equal State Pension ages but no pension equality for women

    Equal State Pension ages but no pension equality for women

    Men and women’s State Pension age will be equalised tomorrow 6 November 2018. But equal State Pension age does not mean pension equalit.   Ten reasons women lose out in pensions as gender pensions gap remains wide. Tuesday November 6th is the day men and women’s pension ages are equalised:  After decades of difference, when women received their state pension at age 60, while men had to wait till age 65, tomorrow sees the historic date when women and men…

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    Budget 2018 – my first thoughts

    Budget 2018 – my first thoughts

    Chancellor plays it safe – sensible reforms to boost growth and some nice surprises. Glad to see no big changes on pensions. Increase in personal tax threshold to £12,500 will boost auto-enrolment in April 2019 when worker contributions double. But yet another missed opportunity to find money for social care. So there we have it.  The last Budget before Brexit, cleverly crafted to ensure measures will please as many groups as possible who might have been tempted to vote it…

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    High Court ruling on GMPs

    High Court ruling on GMPs

    Court ruling about pensions equalisation could take years and cost billions to implement. Equal pensions are important but complexity of UK rules and poor data records will mean difficulties for pension schemes. GMP pension problems highlight how vital it is to have accurate pension records – trustees and Regulators must demand auto-enrolment scheme data are checked and corrected. A High Court ruling today about pensions could have enormous ramifications for most final salary-type pension schemes. As with all things related…

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    Low earners being forced to pay 25% too much for their pensions – how many scandals can pensions take?

    Low earners being forced to pay 25% too much for their pensions – how many scandals can pensions take?

    Industry representatives call for Budget changes to end scandal of low earners being over-charged by 25% for their pensions. Letter to the Chancellor asking him to ensure lowest paid workers treated fairly in pensions. This scandal could derail confidence in auto-enrolment as more people – mostly women – lose more money in pensions. Government and Pensions Regulator have been warned for years but haven’t sorted it – it’s time to act! There is a major scandal in auto-enrolment pensions which…

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    Social Care and Auto-Enrolment

    Social Care and Auto-Enrolment

    Auto-enrolment for care funds could help younger workers but not older generations. For babyboomers who’ve already retired, auto-enrolment via employers won’t help. A 21st Century National Insurance system should include later life care as well as pensions. Pensions, ISAs, housing, or other savings might help those already in later life.  Green Paper on social care will need wide range of measures, implemented urgently, to spread burden more fairly within and between generations. The Secretary of State for Social Care has…

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    Landmark ECJ ruling says PPF cap is unlawful

    Landmark ECJ ruling says PPF cap is unlawful

    European Court recommends better protection for workers’ pensions. Landmark ECJ ruling finds PPF cap unlawful – workers must not lose over half their pension. Small number of people affected, but hugely important to each one of them. PPF (and FAS) compensation will improve, but 1% impact on funding shouldn’t affect PPF levy. Nobody should lose more than half their pension: A landmark ruling from the ECJ today has confirmed that the protection of UK workers’ pensions is inadequate. Pension Protection…

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    Care ISAs: Over-60s have £300billion in ISAs which could help care funding crisis

    Care ISAs: Over-60s have £300billion in ISAs which could help care funding crisis

    Britain’s over-60s have more than £300billion in ISAs which could help solve the care crisis. Over 8million over 60s have £35,000-£40,000 in ISAs. £1trillion+ earmarked to pay future pensions but nothing for future care costs. Government’s should introduce incentives for Care ISA.  Britain faces a funding crisis for elderly care with no money set aside for future care needs: The country cannot cope with the costs of caring for today’s elderly population as more than one million older people who…

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    Needs more than an advertising campaign to protect people from pensions cold calling

    Needs more than an advertising campaign to protect people from pensions cold calling

    Campaign to improve ‘awareness’ of cold-calling is not enough to protect the public. Relying on people checking FCA registers or reporting scams will not stop the cold-callers! Financial Regulators must ban pension firms from using leads from cold-calling. New ‘ScamSmart’ awareness campaign is welcome, but inadequate: The Pensions Regulator and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have launched an important public information campaign, warning about the dangers of falling for pension cold-calls. Such ‘awareness’ campaigns are welcome, but will not end the…

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    Pensions are far better than Lifetime ISAs – Treasury Committee is right to recommend abolition

    Pensions are far better than Lifetime ISAs – Treasury Committee is right to recommend abolition

    Treasury Select Committee is right to recommend abolition of Lifetime ISA. Also right to suggest abolition of pensions Lifetime Allowance. Just have limit on annual contributions without penalising investment success. Lifetime ISA is unhelpful and confusing: I welcome the Treasury Select Committee’s recommendation to abolish the Lifetime ISA (LISA). (link here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmtreasy/565/56510.htm ) The LISA is a hybrid product that can be used to save for house purchase or for later life. These two aims should be kept separate, rather…

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    Success for HPV ‘Jabs for the Boys’ campaign

    Success for HPV ‘Jabs for the Boys’ campaign

    Brilliant news – success for HPV ‘Jabs for the  Boys’ campaign. Government to vaccinate all boys to prevent future cancer and save lives. Congratulations to Department of Health for announcing decision quickly. The new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made the brilliant announcement that the NHS will vaccinate all young boys, as well as girls, against the HPV virus which causes a range of cancers and serious illnesses in later life. HPV is one of the…

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