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Landmark ECJ ruling says PPF cap is unlawful

September 6, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

European Court recommends better protection for workers’ pensions. Landmark ECJ ruling finds PPF cap unlawful – workers must not lose over half their pension. Small number of people affected, but hugely important to each one of them. PPF (and FAS) compensation will improve, but 1% impact on funding shouldn’t affect PPF levy. Nobody should lose more than half their pension: A landmark ruling from the ECJ today has confirmed that the protection of UK workers’ pensions is inadequate. Pension Protection…

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Care ISAs: Over-60s have £300billion in ISAs which could help care funding crisis

August 19, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

Britain’s over-60s have more than £300billion in ISAs which could help solve the care crisis. Over 8million over 60s have £35,000-£40,000 in ISAs. £1trillion+ earmarked to pay future pensions but nothing for future care costs. Government’s should introduce incentives for Care ISA. Britain faces a funding crisis for elderly care with no money set aside for future care needs: The country cannot cope with the costs of caring for today’s elderly population as more than one million older people who…

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Needs more than an advertising campaign to protect people from pensions cold calling

August 14, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

Campaign to improve ‘awareness’ of cold-calling is not enough to protect the public. Relying on people checking FCA registers or reporting scams will not stop the cold-callers! Financial Regulators must ban pension firms from using leads from cold-calling. New ‘ScamSmart’ awareness campaign is welcome, but inadequate: The Pensions Regulator and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have launched an important public information campaign, warning about the dangers of falling for pension cold-calls. Such ‘awareness’ campaigns are welcome, but will not end the…

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Pensions are far better than Lifetime ISAs – Treasury Committee is right to recommend abolition

July 26, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

Treasury Select Committee is right to recommend abolition of Lifetime ISA. Also right to suggest abolition of pensions Lifetime Allowance. Just have limit on annual contributions without penalising investment success. Lifetime ISA is unhelpful and confusing: I welcome the Treasury Select Committee’s recommendation to abolish the Lifetime ISA (LISA). (link here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmtreasy/565/56510.htm ) The LISA is a hybrid product that can be used to save for house purchase or for later life. These two aims should be kept separate, rather…

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Success for HPV ‘Jabs for the Boys’ campaign

July 26, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

Brilliant news – success for HPV ‘Jabs for the Boys’ campaign. Government to vaccinate all boys to prevent future cancer and save lives. Congratulations to Department of Health for announcing decision quickly. The new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made the brilliant announcement that the NHS will vaccinate all young boys, as well as girls, against the HPV virus which causes a range of cancers and serious illnesses in later life. HPV is one of the…

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Vital pension and retirement policies delayed – perhaps casualties of Brexit

July 23, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

As Parliament breaks for the Summer, there are vital issues left in abeyance. Preparing for later life is essential in our aging population, but policies are on hold. Delays in dealing with social care funding leave a worsening care crisis all around us. Pensions Dashboard, cold-calling ban and ensuring low earners aren’t overcharged have all been delayed, despite the urgency. Over the past year, Ministers have promised a raft of measures designed to help people build up better pensions, improve…

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Pension Dashboard problems could be solved with the right technology

July 19, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

Ros Altmann to Chair pensionsync – a ‘hidden gem’ pensions fintech firm. As Government backs away from Pensions Dashboard, partly due to costs and data unreliability, new technology, developed by private sector can revolutionise auto-enrolment administration. Automating pension contributions saves time, saves money, improves accuracy and enhances GDPR compliance, giving people cheaper pensions for the future. Some day all pensions should be done this way! I am delighted to announce my appointment as Chair of award-winning fintech specialist pensionsync –…

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Discrimination against older workers

July 17, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 3 comments

Older workers – especially women – face damaging discrimination in the jobs market. Parliamentary Committee calls for action against recruitment industry for breaches of equality law. Many older women excluded from the world of work face poverty as state pension age rises. Calls for improved efforts to Retain, Retrain and Recruit older workers. The Commons Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into employment for older people contains damning findings of age discrimination in the workplace. It concludes that ageism in the…

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Pensions cold-calling ban delayed again – despite the urgency

June 29, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

The much-promised pensions cold-calling ban, legislated for a few months ago and promised to come into effect by end June, is not ready on time. The Regulations required to implement the ban have not been laid, so the timetable will not be met. The need for a ban is widely recognised. The sooner cold-calling for pensions is outlawed, the sooner people will be better protected against being scammed and losing their life savings. So many people have already suffered from…

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FCA moving in the right direction on pension freedoms at last

June 28, 2018 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

Pension Freedoms not yet working properly as millions have no independent guidance or advice. FCA study highlights need to redesign drawdown for new customer profiles. Regulator demands better investment options, cost transparency and threatens to cap charges. Wake-up packs at age 50 and standard ‘pensions passport’ are major improvements. New regime not working well for customers as providers fail to innovate: The FCA’s latest report on how pension freedoms have impacted the retirement income space shows that there is…

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