pensionsandsavings.com

Women’s state pension age rises – IFS research

August 2, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 9 comments

2 August 2017 Controlling State Pension costs is right but 1 in 5 women affected pushed into poverty IFS research shows rising State Pension age saves billions but leaves many in hardship Working age benefits are not enough to support women unable to keep working Government failure to properly inform women could justify helping some bridge the gap Government is right to look to control the costs of state pensions: Clearly, in an aging population, with rising longevity and pay-as-you-go…

Read More Read More

State Pension Age and Social Care

July 21, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

21 July 2017 Government needs to rethink the retirement contract for older people Just relying on the triple lock and rising State Pension age is not sustainable National Insurance needs to help those with lower life expectancy or needing social care The Government has just announced that the UK State Pension age will increase faster than previously expected. By 2039, nobody will be able to start their state pension before the age of 68. This affects people born between 1970…

Read More Read More

Who will help sort out this auto-enrolment pension scandal?

July 21, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

21 July 2017 Who will help sort out this auto-enrolment pension scandal? Low earners losing money but don’t know it yet I want to highlight a major pensions injustice concerning employers who choose an auto-enrolment scheme administered on a net pay basis. Such schemes cannot add the 25 per cent bonus of tax relief to contributions of workers earning less than £11,500 a year from the employer. Auto-enrolling these employees – mostly women – into a net pay scheme forces…

Read More Read More

Pension Schemes forced to stop discriminating against same-sex partners

July 12, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

12 July 2017 UK pension funds cannot discriminate against same sex partners Landmark ruling rightly requires pension schemes to treat all partners equally Costs could run to hundreds of millions of pounds The Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex partnerships must be fairly and properly recognised within UK pension schemes. In a landmark ruling, ( INNOSPEC VS. WALKER) the judges ruled that a pension scheme member who is married to a same sex partner must be treated the same as…

Read More Read More

Pension Freedoms need to work better for customers

July 12, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

12 July 2017 I welcome the FCA Retirement Outcomes Review and its focus on the customer but I am disappointed that the pensions industry has so far failed to radically change its approach. The pensions industry needs to wake up to the tremendous new opportunities offered by pension freedoms and auto enrolment. This is the time to show real, innovative thinking in the customer interest but sadly the industry has so far failed. Where are the new products or default…

Read More Read More

Pension freedoms mean pension transfers make more sense

June 21, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

21 June 2017 Good news: Regulator wakes up to new landscape for pension transfers Advisers encouraged to recognise that transferring out of a final salary scheme could be the right thing to do Pension freedoms have radically improved attractions of Defined Contribution pensions Vital to understand both risks and benefits, rather than assume transfers always wrong The new world of pension freedom and choice paves the way for fresh thinking on transferring out of Defined Benefit pension schemes. Here’s a…

Read More Read More

Manifesto cost May the election

June 11, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 2 comments

11 June 2017 Tory Manifesto cost May the election Social care proposals alienated core voters AND would have made care crisis even worse There is no silver bullet – care crisis needs a range of solutions The Tory Manifesto was a turning point in the election campaign. To say the policy announcements on pensions and care were badly thought through would be an understatement. They don’t really seem to have been thought through at all. The combination of means-testing Winter…

Read More Read More

No room for complacency as UK firms struggle with pension costs

May 15, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 1 comment

15 May 2017 I put in a response to the DWP’s 100+ page Green Paper consultation on the sustainability of final-salary-type pension schemes. My response was also lengthy, but I’ve summarised it for you below, although you can link to the whole thing from there if you want to. I do feel that urgent attention must be given to consolidating schemes, moving away from the over-reliance on gilts (schemes need to ‘manage’ risk, not ‘minimise’ it) and using these huge…

Read More Read More

Election Manifesto for older voters – 6-point plan for reform

April 20, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 11 comments

20 April 2017 Help poorer pensioners, older women and families facing elderly care Radical overhaul of social care to ensure fairer system for all – a crisis worse than pensions State Pension triple lock could move to a double lock, increasing by prices or earnings Double lock should apply to Pension Credit so poorest pensioners are protected properly Improve pension outcomes for women – private pensions, State Pensions and WASPI Reform pensions tax relief to give everyone a 33% Government…

Read More Read More

Lifetime ISA launch – BEWARE

April 5, 2017 Ros Altmann Comments 0 Comment

5 April 2017 Launch of Lifetime ISAs – don’t be fooled Hardly any providers offering LISAs – probably due to complexity and mis-selling risks Mixing house purchase and pensions will damage ISA brand LISAs may be good for first time buyers, but dreadful for retirement – saving for house deposit very different from long term investment for retirement Trying to turn pensions into ISAs undermines young people’s pension prospects Why not just improve the Help To Buy ISA and leave…

Read More Read More