Latest Columns
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Lisa Webster: Take the pension first? Think again
With the impending changes to tax treatment of pensions on death, there has been talk around the order of income in retirement being turned on its head.
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Tilley: Transfer reform welcome but SSAS governance is key
At first glance, DWP’s June 2026 consultation on proposed changes to the 2021 transfer regulations does something the industry has long asked for; it acknowledges that the current regime, while well intended, has created too much friction for some perfectly legitimate pension transfers.
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Lisa Webster: Good news from DWP for SIPPs but not SSAS
The DWP has just released its long-awaited consultation on the SIPP transfer regulations – and it’s largely encouraging news. As an employee of a reputable SIPP provider the changes are positive. SSAS providers may be less enthusiastic about some of the proposals.
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Lisa Webster: Should tax-free cash always be taken?
Since the Lifetime Allowance was abolished and replaced with the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) and lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA), we have seen an increase in SIPP members who want to take drawdown only – foregoing the right to take the associated pension commencement lump sum (PCLS).
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Tilley: Are we asking too much of pension savers?
Working in UK pensions, I’ve always accepted that the system evolves. Fiscal pressures change, demographics shift, and governments recalibrate policy objectives. But even allowing for that, the pace and volume of legislative change in the pensions space over the last few years feels unprecedented, and in my view increasingly problematic.
Popular News
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Lisa Webster: Paying IHT on pensions - what are the options?
When unused pension funds are drawn into the inheritance tax net from next April, one of the key decisions those left behind will have to face is how best to pay any arising bill. There are three options available, and all have their pros and cons.
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Only 40% of adults know where their pensions are held
Only two-in-five (40%) adults know where all their private and workplace pensions are held.
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State Pension's expected 3.9% rise puts pressure on Triple Lock
The State Pension looks set to rise by 3.9% next April after the average earnings figure for the three-month period ending July 2026, published by the ONS today, came in at 3.9%.
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SIPP savers could lose £140k through fees and tax
SIPP savers have been warned to be wary of small platform fees and unclaimed tax relief after new analysis suggested a higher-rate taxpayer could be up to £138,948 worse off because of fees and taxes.
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Pre-retirement women have half the pension wealth of men
Women aged 55-59 have around half (54%) the pension wealth of men of the same age, according to new research from the Pensions Policy Institute.
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SIPP firm Yorsipp poaches director from Standard Life
Specialist SIPP and SSAS provider Yorsipp has recruited Mark Randell from Standard Life to be strategic partnerships and distribution director.
Pension administration services company EQ Retirement Solutions has appointed Will Pritchett as chief executive officer to replace Duncan Watson, who will join the EQRS Board.
For much of the last 30 years, the role of pension trustees has been relatively clear: protect members, pay benefits and manage risk.
New figures released by HMRC reveal that the tax authorities collected £164m in pension annual allowance charges last year with one expert warning that high-earners are being "caught out" by the charge.
Pension provider and consultant XPS Group has completed the acquisition of the trade and assets of insurance consultancy Austin Professional Resourcing for a potential £16.3m.
XPS said the deal for the insurance specialist will accelerate its plans to become "a broader financial services firm."
The acquisition, first announced on 26 June, will be for £3.3m, with an additional £3m payable by 31 March 2027.
A further contingent total cash consideration of up to £10m will be payable in the following two years, contingent on achieving certain stretching business performance criteria.
Austin Professional Resourcing, established in 2006, is a UK-based specialist actuarial consultancy to insurers and financial sector clients. It has worked with more than 45 insurers and financial sector clients in the last three years, including most of the UK's top 10 insurers.
In the year ended 31 March, APR generated revenues of £10.7m. It has more than 70 client facing employees which, combined with the existing XPS insurance consulting team and access to wider XPS actuarial teams, will provide XPS with greater scale and enhanced capabilities to accelerate the group's diversification into the insurance consulting market, it said.
XPS said in a stock market statement: “The acquisition will further accelerate the group's diversification strategy into large tangential addressable markets and its aim of becoming a market leading financial services consulting and administration provider.”
Announcing the acquisition in June, Paul Cuff, co-CEO of XPS Group, said: “We have been admirers of the APR business for some time, with its strong culture, its highly talented people and its deep relationships in the insurance market.
“With this transaction, XPS will have doubled our total addressable market to £6bn+ in the space of less than two years, through strategic acquisitions and senior recruitment. We are very excited about what the future holds as we become a broader financial services firm providing outstanding client service to pension schemes and insurers alike."
Nearly half of pensions professionals expect dashboards to be used primarily at key life moments such as retirement or job changes, according to a new poll.
Fintech Whistle has acquired app-based digital retirement planning tool Pension Potential from pensions firm Punter Southhall for an undisclosed amount.