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

    • pensionsandsavings.com

    pensionsandsavings.com

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    Author: Ros Altmann

    Annuity providers keep £1billion a year as widows left penniless

    Annuity providers keep £1billion a year as widows left penniless

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    18 November 2013 Widows penniless while insurers pocket £1billion a year from husbands’ pension funds   Companies make huge profits as customers buy wrong annuity because they don’t understand complex terms Focus just on ‘shopping around’ or ‘best rate’ is not enough, need right product first Channel 4 Dispatches reveals real life example of this failure and insurer agrees to change annuity terms The UK annuity market is failing its customers.  An annuity is a product sold by insurers who…

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    Rates are too low as economy booming – Forward Guidance looking backwards

    Rates are too low as economy booming – Forward Guidance looking backwards

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    14 November 2013 Bank of England repeating past mistakes – rates should start rising as UK growth set to surge Mortgage borrowers enticed into large loans at low rates as loan to income ratio returns to pre-crisis peak Keeping rates at 0.5% is about politics, not economics Take the squeeze off pensions and savers – and encourage companies to spend their £200bn cash pile UK economy is booming – but BoE looking backwards instead of forwards: The Bank of England has finally realised…

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    Auto-enrolment focus on pension fund charges misses the bigger picture

    Auto-enrolment focus on pension fund charges misses the bigger picture

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    11 November 2013 There are no controls on charges people forced to pay when buying their actual pension Far more money can be lost on annuitisation than saving 0.25% in fees 0.25% charge on £30,000 fund is £75pa but customers lose £600-£1000 when buying their annuity at retirement with no advice Auto-enrolment needs to ensure pensions are good value:  There has been significant debate about capping fees and charges on auto-enrolment pension funds and estimates that people are losing chunks…

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    Defined Ambition Pensions

    Defined Ambition Pensions

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    7 November 2013 Government trying to offset decline of Defined Benefit pensions with Defined Ambition DA aims to be a more flexible half-way house between DB and DC – but with hard guarantees Government trying to find ways to offset falling state pensions But guaranteed pensions in private sector are still risky – while public sector remains protected Demise of private sector final salary schemes reduces future private sector pensions:  The UK once had a private pension saving system that was the…

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    Can we really justify denying pension resettlement rights to our loyal armed forces?

    Can we really justify denying pension resettlement rights to our loyal armed forces?

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      Former Defence Minister Challenges Government on Armed Forces Redundancy Injustice Betrayal of Military Covenant is a major Breach of Trust for our loyal troops On Thursday 31st October, at 2.30pm, former Labour Defence Minister, Lord Touhig, called an emergency debate in the House of Lords, to highlight the plight of armed forces personnel who feel betrayed by the Government as it has refused to pay them the pension payments they were promised when making them compulsorily redundant.  You can…

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    Comment on pension charges cap of 0.75%

    Comment on pension charges cap of 0.75%

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    29 October 2013 In today’s Pensions Bill debate, Steve Webb anounced his ‘full frontal assault’ on pension charges. Here are my thoughts: It is of course right that people need good value pension schemes to save into with auto enrolment, but it is also important that we consider the losses they can sustain when buying an annuity. Buying the wrong annuity can be even more damaging to people’s pension funds than being in a higher charging scheme. There are no…

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    Don’t lecture universities on their pension scheme

    Don’t lecture universities on their pension scheme

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    25 October 2013 Universities Pension Scheme scaremongering is overdone Classic example of damage to pensions from QE USS is not a closed scheme, so it is unfair to compare it with most other UK schemes Its funding position is being well managed and it should not be panicked by exceptional interest rate environment USS scare stories overdone:  Scare stories today about the black hole in the USS Pension Fund (Universities Superannuation Scheme) are overly negative.  This huge pension scheme, with…

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    Time for change: Make pensions fit for 21st Century retirement

    Time for change: Make pensions fit for 21st Century retirement

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    14 October 2013 TIME FOR CHANGE:  Rethinking pensions and retirement Pension options not fit for the future as ‘low risk’ investments have become more risky and retirement becomes a process not an event Auto-enrolment pension funds not fit for the future:  Retirement is changing, pensions need to change too. As auto-enrolment ensures millions of people are about to start saving in pension schemes at work, it is important to make future pensions fit future lifestyles.  There is a real danger…

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    Equitable Life saga drags on as Compensation Scheme extended

    Equitable Life saga drags on as Compensation Scheme extended

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    9 October 2013 Good that there is more time to trace victims, shame it’s taken so long so far! Government should be commended for continuing its commitment to help those affected The Government deserves some praise for taking the decision to extend the Equitable Life Compensation Scheme deadline and allow more time to trace the victims.  Around one million people may be eligible for compensation, but around 400,000 of them have not yet been traced.  It is not clear why…

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    15-minute care visits are an affront to decency

    15-minute care visits are an affront to decency

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    7 October 2013 Care staff earn less than £1.50 for each 15-minute care visit  Each visit earns less than a cup of coffee as private care firms and councils cut costs  Such social care cutbacks are an affront to decent standards of care  Social Care crisis is deepening  15-minute care visits are putting patients and careworkers in an impossible position:  The Leonard Cheshire charity report (see link here http://www.lcdisability.org/?lid=8843 ) highlights the degrading impact of 15-minute social care visits on…

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