pensionsandsavings.com

  • PENSIONSANDSAVINGS.COM

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

    • pensionsandsavings.com

    pensionsandsavings.com

    15-minute care visits are an affront to decency

    15-minute care visits are an affront to decency

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    7 October 2013 Care staff earn less than £1.50 for each 15-minute care visit  Each visit earns less than a cup of coffee as private care firms and councils cut costs  Such social care cutbacks are an affront to decent standards of care  Social Care crisis is deepening  15-minute care visits are putting patients and careworkers in an impossible position:  The Leonard Cheshire charity report (see link here http://www.lcdisability.org/?lid=8843 ) highlights the degrading impact of 15-minute social care visits on…

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    Why everyone should consider income drawdown before buying an annuity

    Why everyone should consider income drawdown before buying an annuity

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    What to do with your pension pot as you approach retirement is an important issue to explore. Most people don’t realise they don’t have to buy an annuity: All too often, people just assume they have to annuitise, and never engage with the important alternative options available to them. Annuities are irreversible:  Once you have bought an annuity, you can’t change it. You will never have a second chance. Annuities won’t protect you against serious retirement risks: It’s like putting…

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    Auto-enrolment first anniversary – many happy returns?

    Auto-enrolment first anniversary – many happy returns?

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    1 October 2013 Employers must be warned of complexity and need to prepare at least a year ahead  Can’t leave it till the last minute as capacity crunch looms  Significant challenges still remain despite promising start  Aim to improve pensions for millions:  One year ago today, the first and largest employers became legally obliged to automatically enrol their employees into a pension scheme and pay contributions for them too.  This is a social policy which aims to improve pensions for…

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    OFT Report on industry charges – who is protecting the customer?

    OFT Report on industry charges – who is protecting the customer?

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    23 September 2013 NEST charging structure may be responsible for failure to recommend a charge cap – NEST would not comply with a 1% cap! The long-awaited OFT report into pension scheme charges has finally been released – but its recommendations are disappointingly weak in terms of consumer protection. The OFT has done an excellent job in highlighting the excessive charges on older (particularly pre-2001) pension schemes but it has shied away from recommendations that would quickly bring them down….

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    Wouldn’t a 1% charge cap leave NEST out on a limb?

    Wouldn’t a 1% charge cap leave NEST out on a limb?

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    OFT report into pension charges expected to propose a 1% cap How does that square with NEST’s 1.8% initial charge? NEST charging structure needs urgent overhaul as it can be poor value The long-awaited report from the Office of Fair Trading, assessing the charges levied on UK pension plans, is about to be released and is expected to recommend a cap on the charges for UK pensions probably of 1%. This recommendation would raise a number of issues.  It is…

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    Potential good news for pensioners as gilt yields rise

    Potential good news for pensioners as gilt yields rise

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    17 September 2013 Rising gilt yields and revised regulations could increase pensioner incomes from income drawdown by 50% But inflexibility prevents pensioners from accessing more of their money By the time they are allowed to, the opportunity may be lost Need to make drawdown more flexible and allow for ill-health  Recent rises in gilt yields and Treasury rule changes for income drawdown mean people could now take much more money out of their pension funds than last year.  This should…

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    Who cares – zero hours contracts for careworkers while care crisis worsens

    Who cares – zero hours contracts for careworkers while care crisis worsens

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    Zero hours contracts for private sector careworkers are not conducive to delivering quality care Trying to fund care on the cheap compromises quality Treating care staff decently will require funding reform as care crisis grows As the party conferences shine a spotlight on the problem of zero hours contracts, this seems an opportune time to highlight the working conditions of Britain’s private sector careworkers. Zero hours contracts are standard in this industry.  The staff are also usually expected to fund…

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    DANGER: Even estate agents think house prices rising too fast

    DANGER: Even estate agents think house prices rising too fast

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    Calls to cap house price rises are clear sign of housing bubble RICS is shouting from the rooftops – are the authorities listening? No more ‘Help to Buy’ we need ‘Help to Build’ Clear signs of housing bubble: The RICS has issued an unprecedented call for a cap on house price rises.  This suggestion, from the industry most closely associated with the housing market, clearly indicates that house prices are in bubble territory.  It has been clear for months 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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    Pole-axed Pensions – politicians raiding pensions again

    Pole-axed Pensions – politicians raiding pensions again

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    10 September 2014 Financial crisis fallout once again hits pensions Polish Government confiscates private pension assets to improve public finances  Politicians have found many ways to raid pension assets when times get tough I just thought I should put together a note following the sudden confiscation by the Polish government of all the bond holdings in Poland’s private sector pension funds last week.  It seems to  me that private pension savings are not safe in Europe and we need to…

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