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

    A chance to end pensioner poverty this Bank Holiday

    A chance to end pensioner poverty this Bank Holiday

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    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!

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    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

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    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

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    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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    Shocking FCA findings – consumers may have no protection from poor advice in pension transfers

    Shocking FCA findings – consumers may have no protection from poor advice in pension transfers

    Comments 1 comment

    Shocking FCA findings that many advice firms had no professional indemnity cover, leaving customers unprotected against mis-selling.  Waiting till October 2020 to ban Contingent Charging, downplayed customer protection and put consumers at greater risk.  The ban was needed long ago, as it was obvious that advisers who only get paid if they advise customers to transfer, can be biased towards advice to transfer even if unsuitable.   The FCA has just released updated data about Defined Benefit pension transfers from 2018…

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    When will pensions become user friendly?

    When will pensions become user friendly?

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    People’s Pension research highlights tremendous opportunities of pension freedoms being missed. Freedoms can make pensions more customer-friendly and help them last longer into later life. When will the industry wake up to the chance to promote pensions and encourage customers not to take money out too soon? Here are my thoughts on pensions from the customer perspective.  The findings do not suggest problems with the principles of freedom and choice. They do, however, imply problems in the way the industry…

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    Arcadia pension scheme unlikely to be rescued like BHS – it’s different this time!

    Arcadia pension scheme unlikely to be rescued like BHS – it’s different this time!

    Comments 0 Comment

    Not sure Arcadia’s owners have legal responsibility for fixing its pension scheme deficit. SUMMARY: The company’s collapse has been hastened by the pandemic, which nobody could have foreseen and there seems little legal remedy for the pension members. This situation is not directly comparable to BHS as Sir Philip and Tina Green had agreed pension deficit repair contributions and paid what was asked by the Regulator and trustees. QE has inflated annuity costs and pension liabilities, so the Arcadia scheme…

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    Chancellor’s Statement comment

    Chancellor’s Statement comment

    Comments 2 comments

    Chancellor rightly focuses on jobs and increasing infrastructure spending to boost growth. Great to see Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Restart programmes to help for older unemployed workers – as state pension age rises.   Green projects and social housing should use UK pension assets instead of more borrowing.   The Autumn Statement sets out the depth of the economic emergency we are facing and the Chancellor is right to ensure that we focus on preserving and creating jobs, increasing infrastructure, improving environmental…

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    Chancellor should seize the chance to use pension assets to boost growth and build back Britain

    Chancellor should seize the chance to use pension assets to boost growth and build back Britain

    Comments 0 Comment

    Pensions offer Chancellor the chance to boost growth directly rather than borrowing billions.    Defined Benefit schemes better suited to such investments than the much smaller pool of Defined Contribution pension funds with liquidity and daily pricing rules.    Over £2trillion in UK pensions could be investing for long-term growth but regulators are driving them to buy gilts and low return bonds.   Heavy regulatory anchors are weighing down DB schemes and could sink them with low or negative returns…

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