Maiden Speech in House of Lords
18 June 2015 This is a link to my Maiden Speech in the House of Lords
My farewell blog…
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…
Pension Freedom Day is great news for pensions – here’s what you need to know
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…
Pension jargon explained for April Fools Day
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…
A Savings Revolution to follow the Pensions Revolution
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…
Cashing in unwanted annuities
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. …
Is cutting pensions tax relief the right way to tackle student debt?
27th February 2015 Proposals to cut annual pension contributions limits make some sense but cutting lifetime limit makes it difficult to plan pensions properly Still leaves public sector better off than typical private sector pension savers There are better ways to use pensions to help students with debt Damage pension confidence as rules keep changing: The proposals today to cut pensions tax relief in order to fund cuts in university tuition fees are likely to cause damage to pension confidence….
Pensioner Benefits
24 February 2015 Protecting pensioner benefits is politically astute but also makes some sense for now Tinkering with the current package of benefits is not a solution – they could be taxed or paid from a later age, but the whole system should be rationalised A proper assessment of all later life support is needed – including social care If the Government just stops paying pensioner benefits such as Winter Fuel Payments or free TV licences, this would be the…
Great news: FCA will finally force firms to look after their pension customers
26 January 2015 At last the regulator has bowed to pressure for second line of defence – essential in the new era of freedom and choice Providers must ask questions and give risk warnings before customers make irreversible pension decisions Fantastic news for customers: I am so delighted that the FCA will finally force firms to take more care of their customers, asking vital questions and warning them about the risks of irreversible pension choices. At last, pension providers will…
65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds – Great news for pensioners from NS&I
15th January 2015 At last some good news for pensioners’ savings NS&I 65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds on sale from today – guaranteed by the Government These are market-beating bonds with great interest rates and fully backed by the Treasury Don’t panic, but if you’re over 65 and have money sitting in a savings account, the sooner you apply, the sooner it can earn more for you National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has this morning launched its long awaited new…