Latest Blogs
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Tilley: Will IHT reforms really threaten pension saving?
The Government’s decision to bring most unused pension funds and lump sum death benefits within the scope of inheritance tax (IHT) from 6 April 2027 has provoked widespread criticism from across the pensions industry. Providers, advisers and trade bodies have warned that the change risks undermining confidence in pension saving and damaging long term retirement provision.
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Lisa Webster: Charity giving from pensions
I’m sure many of you reading this on SIPPs Professional will have had more than a few conversations with clients about estate planning – especially considering the news that pensions are to be included in the value of the estate for IHT purposes from April 2027.
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Lisa Webster: Salary sacrifice cap will hit some hard
The headline story from Budget 2025 - in the pension world at least - was the plan to cap National Insurance relief for pension contributions paid through salary sacrifice at £2,000 a year.
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Tilley: Rebooting the FOS makes sense
I’ve written before about the lack of coherence in the UK’s pension complaints landscape and it remains a source of real frustration for those of us working in the sector.
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Lisa Webster: Pension age uncertainty lingers on
We’ve known for many years that normal minimum pension age, NMPA it's known, is going up.
Popular News
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Pension professionals concerned about dashboard handling
Pension professionals are concerned about the industry’s capacity to handle Pensions Dashboards queries.
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Aptia acquires Mercer’s Pension Decision Service
Pensions administrator Aptia has acquired Pension Decision Service from Mercer for an undisclosed amount.
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Pensions industry urged to protect savers from scams
Fraud Minister Lord Hanson has urged pension trustees to do all they can to protect millions of scheme members from fraudsters.
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FCA survey reveals 15% fall in adviser firms
The number of adviser firms has fallen by 15% since 2021 although the number of advisers overall has remained steady at 31,000.
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Lisa Webster: Beware IHT and pensions double taxation
One of the most disliked aspects of bringing pensions into the estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes from 6 April 2027 is the double taxation that will occur when the member dies on or after their 75th birthday.
The Coronavirus pandemic has created the 'perfect storm' for those in income drawdown and many may never fully recover from the impact, according to a new report.
After an unsteady period, defined benefit (DB) pension transfer values increased to a record high during June and the number of members taking a transfer value rebounded strongly too.
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.