Latest Blogs
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James Jones-Tinsley: Guided Retirement Duty could be game changer
During May, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), sponsored by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), concluded that defined contribution (DC) pension savers – including those in SIPPs, as well as in Workplace Pensions - require more guidance when choosing suitable retirement products.
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Lisa Webster: Overcomplicated rules are a threat
It may be more than a year since the Lifetime Allowance was formally abolished but issues are still emerging from the mess made by rushed legislation.
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Lisa Webster: To gift or not to gift?
Since the announcement that pensions are to be included in estates for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes the question of whether those with large pension pots should be giving some funds away has become increasingly common.
Popular News
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6 in court over £75m complex SIPP fraud
Six people were due to appear in court this week over a pension fund and SIPP fraud which involved £75m being invested in storage units in the North of England and Scotland.
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IHT on pension pots will hit bank of Mum and Dad
Charging inheritance tax on unused pension funds will create confusion and increase the risk of gifting mistakes for the Bank of Mum and Dad and Gran and Grandad, equity release specialist Key Advice has warned.
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Average annuity value soars 160% in 5 years
The average value of an annuity has soared 160% since 2021, according to newly-published client data from Hargreaves Lansdown.
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Younger investors bet on property and pensions for retirement
The majority of Millennials (56%) and Gen Z (62%) see a mixture of pension and property as their main retirement asset, according to new research.
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Thousands sign pension-switch petition
A petition calling for a 10-day pension switch guarantee has attracted more than 2,000 signatures in its first two weeks.
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40m pension records connected to Dashboards ecosystem
More than 40m pension records have connected to the Pensions Dashboards ecosystem since April.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) is creating three new investment company sectors as part of a sector reshuffle.
SIPP provider Curtis Banks has revealed the top technical queries its support team received in 2020.
The FCA has begun civil proceeding in the High Court against Paul Steel for providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice.
It has also secured in interim injunction which freezes the assets of both Mr Steel and his partner Ms Foster up to the value of £7m, pending a further hearing.
The regulator said Mr Steel’s firm, Estate Matters Financial (in liquidation), contravened the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice, leading consumers to exit defined benefit pension schemes when it was not in their best interests to do so.
The regulator added that Mr Steel, Estate Matters Financial’s director and co-owner, was knowingly concerned in the contravention.
The FCA alleges that Mr Steel breached FCA requirements by undertaking a course of conduct which resulted in the removal of the firm’s assets, leaving it unable to meet potential liabilities for unsuitable advice, while enabling him to retain the significant profits that accrued from the provision of the advice and from ongoing fees.
An injunction was also obtained against Ms Foster on the basis that she may be holding or controlling assets owned by her partner Mr Steel.
The FCA has also asked the Court to make a restitution order requiring Mr Steel to compensate consumers who have suffered losses as a result of receiving unsuitable pension transfer advice.
No trial date has been set.
Wealth Manager Charles Stanley, which has a substanial SIPP arm, has removed VAT from its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) across its Dynamic Passive, Blended and Multi-manager models.
Private equity-owned platform James Hay is to buy rival Nucleus Financial for £145m in an all-cash deal announced today.
Rowanmoor owner the Embark Group has appointed Sara Wilson as its new head of platform proposition after she recently transferred from Alliance Trust Savings (ATS).