As most readers of this blog will know by now, I have been appointed Minister for Pensions in David Cameron’s new government. Having spent so many years studying pensions, savings and retirement policy as an independent expert, I have the chance of working inside government to drive things forward. It will certainly keep me busy and be a great new challenge. Recent years have seen sweeping changes to our pensions system, changes which have started to move pensions in…
It is simply incredible to deny that the Labour Government spent too much Failure to recognise or admit past over-spending is deeply worrying This is an article I wrote in 2006, exposing the excessive Government spending under Gordon Brown. It was clear to me even back then, and is still clear now, that the Government was spending far too much. I warned that this was the wrong policy, but it continued. Ed Balls and Ed Milliband were in charge…
30 April 2015 This is my honest assessment of the economic and political realities facing the UK Having given my views on finance and economics for years, I am writing this blog to set out some thoughts on the upcoming election. I have previously voted Labour and LibDem and each party has some excellent politicians, but the current economic and political realities lead me to conclude that the future of the country I love is at risk if the Conservatives…
19 April 2015 Review of financial fairness and extending financial guidance to younger savers Minister for financial consumer protection and financial education For so many years I have been an independent consumer champion, working on making finance work better for customers, exposing injustice and helping ordinary savers understand finance. I have focused on policy, rather than politics, trying to make finance work well for the many, not just the few. I have worked with all the major political parties and…
6th April 2015 Pension freedom is great news for pensions – new rules make them more user-friendly, now industry needs to help customers benefit from the changes Don’t be in a rush to take money out of a pension and suffer the tax consequences I believe most people will be responsible with their money, I trust people Pension Wise is there to help – make sure you use it 030 0330 1001 From today, April 6th 2015, the rules governing…
With grateful thanks to Simon Grover of ‘quietroomtweets’ for his April Fool take on pension jargon – hope you enjoy it. Source is here: http://quietroom.co.uk/general/fool2015/ With less than a week to go before the new ‘pension freedoms’ take effect, a Government body is today announcing a new tool to help explain the changes. A Pensions-Related Information Lexicon is the latest publication from the Financial Office Of Language (FOOL), a quango that brings together experts from the world of business communications to…
26 March 2015 New Pension rules offer opportunities for better financial engagement FCA needs to authorise basic advice to help people make good decisions Last week I participated in a really good breakfast discussion about the Pensions Revolution taking place in the UK, hosted by Investec Structured Products. Pensions experts Robert Cochrane of Scottish Widow, Tom McPhail of Hargreaves Lansdown and myself were joined by ten leading personal finance and retirement journalists to discuss the pension changes starting on…
18 March 2015 We had the Pensions Revolution last year, now comes the Savings Revolution 95% of savers will pay no tax on their savings – will be popular 5m will be allowed to sell their annuity – that’s great news But cutting Lifetime Allowance for pensions is really bad policy Lifetime limit should only apply to DB, but abolished for DC So there we have it. The last Budget before the General Election. A mix of moves to please…
15th March 2015 The pensions revolution rolls on! Pension freedoms extended to current pensioners too At last, some hope for millions of people trapped in products they never wanted to buy Of course there are risks, but Regulator and Pension Wise can help protect customers The Treasury will consult on how best to establish a market for second-hand annuities. This will be popular option with many of the five million or more people who have bought annuities in recent…
12 March 2015 Why allowing people to unlock annuities makes sense Millions forced to buy unwanted annuities would now have an option to cash in if they need to Nobody will be forced to sell their annuity back, but they can if they need or want to The proposals to allow people to cash-in annuities that they were forced to buy under the old pension rules could prove popular for many of those who have unwanted or low value annuities. …