pensionsandsavings.com

  • PENSIONSANDSAVINGS.COM

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

    • pensionsandsavings.com

    pensionsandsavings.com

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    Category: Savers and Savings Policy

    Budget wishlist for pensions and savings

    Budget wishlist for pensions and savings

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    17 March 2014 A Budget wishlist for pensions and savings Exempt savings interest from tax for two years Or allow full ISA allowance in cash Allow small pension funds to be taken as cash Relax restrictions in capped drawdown to allow for ill-health Introduce new incentives to save for long-term care – ISA savings set aside for care could pass on free of inheritance tax if not spent Stop meddling with pension rules What might the Chancellor do to address the…

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    Prolonging the party – who wants rates to rise?

    Prolonging the party – who wants rates to rise?

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    31 January 2014 Bank of England statistics confirm bonanza for mortgage holders Mortgage borrowers may be £3,300a year better off and savers over £4000pa worse off Low rates are huge help for mortgagees – no wonder so many don’t want rates to rise Analysing the Bank of England’s statistics on interest rates in mortgage and savings markets since 2007 shows fascinating results.  The extent of income gains for mortgage borrowers is startling and the losses for savers are significant.  Those…

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    A wake-up call to embrace benefits of saving and working longer

    A wake-up call to embrace benefits of saving and working longer

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    17 December 2013 IFS study is a wake-up call to embrace benefits of saving and working longer Headlines of younger generations being much worse off than previous generations are too negative IFS shows younger cohorts were much better off earlier in their lives but spent rather than saved – as economy picks up they can rethink their lives IFS report shows lower incomes for younger generations partly result from failure to save:  Today’s IFS report has led to dire warnings that…

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    What’s happened to savers? Chancellor please take note

    What’s happened to savers? Chancellor please take note

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    3 December 2013   David Cameron said, before the last election: ‘We need to make a really big change: from an economy built on debt to an economy built on savings’ Yet BofE figures show largest fall in long-term savings since 1970s Short-sighted policy encouraging spending now instead of saving for tomorrow is dangerous for all of us Chancellor should recognise importance of savers for long-term growth in his Autumn Statement People taking money out of long-term savings: Analysis of…

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    Well done Mr. Carney ….

    Well done Mr. Carney ….

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    28 November 2013 … for focussing Funding for Lending on business loans – which is what it should always have done. At long last some relief in sight for savers? The Bank of England’s announcement today that the Funding for Lending scheme will only be available for business lending, not mortgage lending, is fantastic news. At long last, there seems to be a recognition that there are real dangers of a housing bubble based on unsustainably cheap mortgages and that…

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    Private pensions have become politicians’ piggy banks

    Private pensions have become politicians’ piggy banks

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    Here is my article in today’s CityAM http://www.cityam.com/article/1378855577/private-pensions-have-become-piggy-bank-spendthrift-states?utm_source=website&utm_medium=TD_opinion_right_col&utm_campaign=TD_opinion_right_col FIVE years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the fallout from the financial crisis is far from over. Across Europe, private pensions have become a targets for politicians seeking to reduce the pressure to rein in spending and manage excessive debt after the crisis. While governments are encouraging or forcing citizens to participate in private pension schemes – with the aim of improving retirement incomes – they have not been able…

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    Care crisis demands urgent action – savings incentives would help families prepare

    Care crisis demands urgent action – savings incentives would help families prepare

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    Yet another report highlighting the scale of the social care crisis.  The research by NFU Mutual shows that older generations are increasingly facing crippling care costs in later life that they have not prepared for.  Families are finding that their lifetime savings are at risk if they become ill in the wrong way.  Those who have cancer or other illnesses that qualify for NHS treatment will have all their care covered by taxpayers.  Those unlucky enough to develop dementia or…

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    Blinkered Bank of England ignoring dangers of low rates as economy picks up

    Blinkered Bank of England ignoring dangers of low rates as economy picks up

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    4  September 2013 Bank of England should take off its blinkers and look at the economic evidence Low rates are distorting economy – causing borrowers and savers to take too much risk MPC should consider a small rise in rates now As the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meets, I urge its members to look carefully at the evidence showing a stronger UK economy and start the process of increasing interest rates to more sustainable levels.  Ultra low interest…

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    If Savers are all doomed, so are the rest of us in the end

    If Savers are all doomed, so are the rest of us in the end

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    August 18, 2013 at 7:27 pm I have just read a blog which once again suggests that those who save cannot expect returns because times are tough and everyone should expect to do badly at the moment.  The blog discusses its views on ‘Why @SaveourSavers are doomed’.  You can read it here: http://leftoutside.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/why-saveoursavers-are-doomed/ This is my response: Demands for higher interest rates are not necessarily demands for transfers from people in the future to people in the present. Indeed demands…

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    Savers – sacred cows or sacrificial lambs?

    Savers – sacred cows or sacrificial lambs?

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    I have been engaged in a lengthy twitter engagement with @IzaKaminska and we have agreed to disagree.  Her first post on our debate was entitled ‘Savers are not sacred cows’ and can be found here http://dizzynomics.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/savers-are-not-sacred-cows-redux/. I feel her arguments and those of others with similar views, are important to air.  I fundamentally disagree with their analysis, but I may of course be wrong.  They contend that we are actually in a deflation and there is not really any inflation…

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