Latest Blogs
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James Jones-Tinsley: Aiming for an advice-guidance sweetspot
As Nikhil Rathi is reappointed as CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for another five years, the FCA has set out its strategic direction for 2025/26, with important implications for financial advisers.
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Lisa Webster: Maximising protected tax-free cash
While 2024 ended with a lot of doom and gloom in the pension world following the big announcement on inheritance tax (IHT), there was some good news that may have slipped under the radar of some advisers.
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Tilley: Is the age 75 trigger date now irrelevant?
Age 75 has been an important milestone in pension rules since A day in 2006. It was the latest age at which a compulsory annuity purchase was required (prior to Pensions Freedoms). It's arguably it’s long been an arbitrary line in the sand, noting that life expectancy has been on the increase for the last 20 years, but this trigger age has remained unchanged.
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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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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.
Popular News
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TPT launches DC decumulation product
Workplace pension provider TPT Retirement Solutions has launched a DC decumulation product, which it said has been designed to simplify retirement income planning for savers.
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Workers in the dark about workplace pensions
Two in five, 43%, UK workers don’t know how much they are contributing to their workplace pension.
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1.5m workers can't afford to save into a pension
More than 1.5m UK workers say they cannot afford to save into a pension.
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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.
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Pension transfer times rose during tax year end
Simpler pension transfers took an average of just 11 days to complete in the lead up to the end of the 2024/25 tax year.
Tens of thousands have called on Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey not to shelve the proposal, with the count up to 126,527 at the time of writing.
The petition, on website 38 Degrees, reads: “The Welfare Secretary Esther McVey wants to 'kill off' a new government website which would help millions of people keep track of their pensions throughout their careers, because she thinks it's not the Government's job to help.
“Without it millions of pension pots are at risk of being lost.
“According to estimates by the Department for Work and Pensions, 50 million pension pots will be lost by 2050 without an official website to help workers to keep track of savings through their careers.”
It added: “A huge petition signed by thousands of us will show the Government we expect them to keep their promises and continue to roll out the pensions dashboard.”
The success of the petition has been backed by fin-tech firm Origo and managing director Anthony Rafferty said:
“The petition launched by 38 Degrees, in response to media reports that the pensions dashboard might not go ahead has passed 100,000 signatures, showing the depth of feeling and the support that the initiative has in the country.
“The benefits of the pensions dashboard are easily seen and have clearly struck a chord with people.
“We at Origo have been passionate supporters of the pensions dashboard since the initiative was launched, believing it is essential to help individuals engage with their retirement planning, particularly in the new pensions environment which was ushered in with the Pension Freedoms.”