pensionsandsavings.com

  • PENSIONSANDSAVINGS.COM

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

    • pensionsandsavings.com

    pensionsandsavings.com

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    Category: Pensions

    State Pension earnings link in triple lock must not be abandoned

    State Pension earnings link in triple lock must not be abandoned

    Comments 2 comments

    State Pension earnings link in triple lock must not be abandoned. Uprating reflects retrospective inflation but forecast steep price rises will hit poorest pensioners most. Government must not abandon the earnings link in the State Pension uprating calculation:  To abandon the earnings link element of the State Pension triple lock would be a potential disaster for pensions and pensioner poverty.  With the lowest State Pension in the developed world and millions of pensioners already living in poverty, failing to uprate…

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    Dropping the earnings link for state pensions sets a dangerous precedent

    Dropping the earnings link for state pensions sets a dangerous precedent

    Comments 9 comments

    Pensioners are not all well-off, millions rely on the State Pension which is the lowest in the developed world.    Removing the earnings link sets a dangerous precedent that pensioners are a target for cost savings.    Basic state pension was worth 26% of average earnings in 1979, fell to 16.3% by 2010 and is now 19% with new State Pension at 24.8%.    A comprehensive review of pensioner support is needed, not short-term sudden changes in their protection.   It…

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    Chancellor and PM can help pension funds create their Investment Big Bang

    Chancellor and PM can help pension funds create their Investment Big Bang

    Comments 1 comment

    PM and Chancellor are right to encourage UK pension funds to invest more in UK growth projects.    Investment Big Bang could be kick-started at pace and scale by DB pensions more easily than DC, including near £300billion local authority pension assets.    If Government offers a guaranteed return at least equivalent to gilts, DB schemes could invest more freely, boost growth more quickly and help fix their deficits faster.    Long-term Asset Fund can help DC schemes overcome daily…

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    State Pension needs radical overhaul, not short-term tinkering

    State Pension needs radical overhaul, not short-term tinkering

    Comments 4 comments

    Don’t abandon State Pension triple lock just because of one year’s figures.  Triple lock is not a sensible policy – it’s a political construct that has acquired totemic significance.    We need a comprehensive review of all aspects of pensioner support, not constant tinkering with parts of it.  Take the political meddling away and let’s have a sensible retirement income system for all.      State pension triple lock is an inefficient policy tool, but has proved a really potent…

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    Reducing pensioner poverty – over 2 million poor pensioners need encouragement to claim Pension Credit

    Reducing pensioner poverty – over 2 million poor pensioners need encouragement to claim Pension Credit

    Comments 0 Comment

    Worrying rise in number of pensioners living in poverty.   Poverty particularly acute for oldest and single pensioners, those in social rented housing and those from black and Asian backgrounds.  Yet official figures show £1.6billion Pension Credit is going unclaimed each year with nearly a million pensioner households missing out on an average £1600 a year. Delighted to see AgeUK, Len Goodman and Rustie Lee joining calls to improve Pension Credit take-up, which has been stuck at 40% since 2010. Worrying…

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    A chance to end pensioner poverty this Bank Holiday

    A chance to end pensioner poverty this Bank Holiday

    Comments 2 comments

    This Bank Holiday weekend, if you’re visiting elderly relatives or neighbours, could be a golden opportunity to stop pensioner poverty. Furlough payments supported workers with their living costs during lockdown, but over one million isolated pensioners have not had money they’re entitled to.  £1.8billion Pension Credit is going unclaimed by UK pensioners – this money is rightfully theirs, so do tell them about it or help them apply. Up to £9,000 a year Pension Credit for single pensioners PLUS perhaps…

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    FCA proposes tougher action to protect pension customers – at last!

    FCA proposes tougher action to protect pension customers – at last!

    Comments 0 Comment

    At last the FCA will force providers to help customers with unbiased PensionWise guidance. Pension freedoms were always intended to go hand in hand with help for customers to understand the risks of taking money from their pension.   PensionWise service has rave reviews but less than one in ten customers use it before withdrawing or moving their pension money.   Let’s hope providers do ensure their customers take-up PensionWise appointments to help avoid scams or expensive irreversible mistakes and unnecessary tax…

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    State Pension Age policy needs urgent review

    State Pension Age policy needs urgent review

    Comments 5 comments

    ONS life expectancy figures confirm need for urgent rethink of State Pension Age policy. 20-year difference in UK healthy life expectancy highlights injustice of continuing to force everyone to wait longer for their State Pension to start. Those in poorest health, carers, or long National Insurance records, may need State Pension before age 66. Delaying State Pension receipt for older people in poor health, unable to work and with no private pension is inequitable. A flexible band of pension ages…

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    Budget Comment

    Budget Comment

    Comments 1 comment

    Freezing the Pensions Lifetime Allowance will hit younger pension savers while older and wealthiest will already have protection at higher levels. Constant changes in rules and limits undermines long-term retirement planning. Chancellor should consider root and branch review of all the allowances to ensure a sustainable and stable system. This review should include identifying ways of incorporating provision for social care into long-term savings and pensions. Damage to confidence in long-term retirement planning: I recognise that the Chancellor has a…

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    Pensions can rebuild Britain – here’s my six-point plan for the Chancellor

    Pensions can rebuild Britain – here’s my six-point plan for the Chancellor

    Comments 0 Comment

    Chancellor has golden opportunity to use pensions to help boost growth. My six-point plan to use private and local authority pensions to build back Britain at lower cost to taxpayers. The UK has a tremendous advantage over other countries because we have always had a strong private pensions sector, with over £2trillion in assets set aside for future pensions. As we build back after the latest economic shock, pensions could and should be a powerful part of our economic recovery….

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