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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State Pension could climb by more than £550
The State Pension could climb by more than £550 next year thanks to the triple lock, as earnings growth outpaces inflation.
Mattioli Woods has made three new board appointments including replacing their chief financial officer. The wealth manager and employee benefits business said that all directors and staff will not be paid their bonuses for the year.
The FCA plans to launch an enhanced Financial Services Register later this month to replace the existing register.
The changeover will happen on Monday 27 July with the previous register withdrawn on Friday 24 July.
Later in the year the regulator will add a directory of certified and assessed persons to reflect the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)
The revamped Register will have a new look and include improvements in response to user feedback.
According to the FCA, the changes will make it easier to find and understand information on the Register.
Firms will be expected to update any links they have to pages on the current Financial Services Register, other than those to the homepage, once the enhanced Register launches.
All current links will be redirected to the enhanced Register’s homepage. The existing Financial Services Register will cease to be available from 6pm on Friday 24 July so that work can take place over the weekend to make the enhanced Register ready for the start of business on Monday 27 July, says the FCA.
The SM&CR regime involves the FCA publishing and maintaining a directory of “certified and assessed” persons on the Financial Services Register. This is to help consumers and professionals check details of key individuals working in financial services.
The directory persons information was planned for March this year but put back partly due to the Coronavirus outbreak and also because the FCA also experienced “operational challenges” when processing some bulk data file submissions from dual-regulated firms at peak periods.
Banks, building societies, credit unions and insurance companies can continue to update the information on their past and present certified employees for inclusion in the directory when it launches later this year.
The FCA recently announced it had proposed extending the previous deadline of 9 December 2020 for solo-regulated firms to submit information about Directory Persons to the Register to 31 March 2021.
The FCA will however allow still publish details of certified employees of solo firms starting from 9 December 2020 on the Register where firms can supply this information before March.
The FCA has pushed back publication of its Annual Report and Accounts - due this month - for at least two months due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Over three quarters (83%) of Financial Planners want the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) scrapped due to the complexity of the rules and protections, according to a new poll.
A slight shift to less expensive SIPPs has resulted in a modest improvement in outcomes for pension scheme members choosing to transfer when compared to last year, according to a new survey.
Despite the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic, Charles Stanley Group revenue has increased 1.7% for the second quarter of 2020 year on year due to strong progress from the Financial Planning division.