pensionsandsavings.com

  • PENSIONSANDSAVINGS.COM

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

    • pensionsandsavings.com

    pensionsandsavings.com

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    Category: Auto-Enrolment, Private Pensions and NEST

    Auto-enrolment is now a no-brainer

    Auto-enrolment is now a no-brainer

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    20 May 2014 New Budget flexibilities dramatically increase appeal of pensions auto-enrolment Opt out rates should fall significantly ‘Buy-one-get-one-free’ deal too good to miss for most The Pensions Policy Institute has today published new research highlighting that auto-enrolment is now far more attractive than previously expected. Opting out of auto-enrolment is turning down free money:  Even for older workers, who were the group least likely to benefit from staying in their employer’s scheme, the flexibilities introduced to pension savings in…

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    Pension charge cap – another piece of the jigsaw

    Pension charge cap – another piece of the jigsaw

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    27 March 2014 Charges cap is important to protect smaller firms’ workers Will eventually need to control all charges, not just AMC Disappointing that NEST two-tier structure will continue to prevent easy comparison 0.75%pa charge cap on auto-enrolment default funds from April 2015 Banning penalty fees on leavers from April 2016 Banning commission payments from April 2016 As auto-enrolment spreads to smaller firms, their workers need protecting from high fees Pot follows member can’t work without a control on fees…

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    Pension charges – don’t be lulled into a false sense of security

    Pension charges – don’t be lulled into a false sense of security

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    18 February 2014 DWP report on pension charges shows importance of introducing a cap Workers in small firms need protecting from rising charges as small funds pay higher fees Labour TER cap for new schemes makes sense but don’t set too low initially NEST reforms needed – and AMDs should be banned Summary DWP report on pension charges shows large schemes have lowest charges As auto-enrolment spreads to smaller firms, their workers need protecting from high fees Labour is right that…

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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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    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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    Auto-enrolment first anniversary – many happy returns?

    Auto-enrolment first anniversary – many happy returns?

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    1 October 2013 Employers must be warned of complexity and need to prepare at least a year ahead  Can’t leave it till the last minute as capacity crunch looms  Significant challenges still remain despite promising start  Aim to improve pensions for millions:  One year ago today, the first and largest employers became legally obliged to automatically enrol their employees into a pension scheme and pay contributions for them too.  This is a social policy which aims to improve pensions for…

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    OFT Report on industry charges – who is protecting the customer?

    OFT Report on industry charges – who is protecting the customer?

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    23 September 2013 NEST charging structure may be responsible for failure to recommend a charge cap – NEST would not comply with a 1% cap! The long-awaited OFT report into pension scheme charges has finally been released – but its recommendations are disappointingly weak in terms of consumer protection. The OFT has done an excellent job in highlighting the excessive charges on older (particularly pre-2001) pension schemes but it has shied away from recommendations that would quickly bring them down….

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    Wouldn’t a 1% charge cap leave NEST out on a limb?

    Wouldn’t a 1% charge cap leave NEST out on a limb?

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    OFT report into pension charges expected to propose a 1% cap How does that square with NEST’s 1.8% initial charge? NEST charging structure needs urgent overhaul as it can be poor value The long-awaited report from the Office of Fair Trading, assessing the charges levied on UK pension plans, is about to be released and is expected to recommend a cap on the charges for UK pensions probably of 1%. This recommendation would raise a number of issues.  It is…

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    Auto-enrolment is going well, but it is only a start

    Auto-enrolment is going well, but it is only a start

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    8 August 2013 DWP delighted auto enrolment opt-outs much lower than expected Treasury will have to budget for higher than expected tax relief! Encouraging progress in improving private pension coverage, but far more is needed – including annuity reform Auto-enrolment among largest firms has been successful in ensuring more people save in a pension: The DWP has released figures today showing that nine out of ten workers automatically enrolled into their employer’s pension scheme have decided to stay in.  It…

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