Latest Columns
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
Popular News
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Mattioli Woods absorbs Kingswood after merger
Wealth manager and SIPP provider Mattioli Woods has announced the integration of Kingswood Group under a unified Mattioli Woods brand, following the two firms’ merger last year.
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Government to increase SSAS scam protections
The Government has issued draft regulations to address concerns about scam risks for members of small self-administered schemes (SSAS).
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Transact adds new trust to help with IHT pension tax
Transact has unveiled the new Flexible Reversionary Trust (FRT) which it says will help advisers prepare for the April 2027 IHT changes when unused pension funds will be subject to IHT.
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James Jones-Tinsley: The pension challenges ahead
On 19 May, the Pensions Commission published its Interim Report on the state of retirement saving in the UK.
Platform and SIPP provider AJ Bell has called for annual platform charges to be disclosed in pounds and pence.
In its response to the FCA’s Platform Market Study interim report, AJ Bell says that reform of charges disclosure is important to allow greater scrutiny by investors.
The company wants:
- Pounds and pence disclosure of annual platform charges
- Regulatory guidance on bulk platform transfers
- A lifting of the ban on cash rebates
- Improved standards and transparency for model portfolio disclosures
Andy Bell, chief executive at AJ Bell, said: “The platform market has grown to a size and importance that merits greater scrutiny but equally it has delivered significant benefits to consumers in terms of lower charges and greater transparency that shouldn’t be derailed by unnecessary intervention.
“In this respect, the interim report hit the right note in terms of highlighting the aspects of the market that need further debate.”
“The FCA is absolutely right to put value for money front and centre of the platform market study and sharpen the focus on revenue margin, expressed as the amount of revenue each platform makes in a year from each £ of assets under administration (AUA).”
He said that revenue per £ of AUA “cuts through” the complexity created by different platform charging structures.
He wants to see investors given the level of charges each platform levies per £ invested.
This would be disclosed as £s of revenue per £100,000 of investment, rather than a basis points measure.
He said that based on the 2016 numbers from the interim report platform fees per £100,000 would range from £220 per year to £540.
Mr Bell said he would also like to see platforms provide a calculator on their websites that showed customers the annual charges that potential and existing customers will pay, in pounds and pence.
He also wants to see switching between platforms made easier.
In addition, he called for the lifting of the ban on cash rebates among other changes to simplify and streamline how platforms run and the charges they levy and to reduce complexity.
XPS Pensions Group, owner of the Xafinity SIPP and SSAS business, is acquiring police pensions specialist Kier Pensions from Kier Business Services for £3.5m in a double deal.
At the same time as the acquisition of Kier Pensions, the company is selling its Healthcare Consulting Business to Punter Southall Health and Protection for £1.25m in cash.
The company says the transactions will “further strengthen the company’s strategic focus.”
Kier Pensions provides third party pension admin to public sector clients, including approximately half of the police forces in the UK, according to XPS.
The deal adds to XPS’s pensions administration business, XPS Administration, and gives XPS for the first time a presence in the public sector third party administration market.
Kier Pensions Unit, part of Kier Business Services, a division of Kier Group, will be acquired for a total of up to £3.5 million in cash.
XPS’ Healthcare Consulting Business provides consulting services to companies involved in healthcare benefits for employees and will be sold to Punter Southall Health and Protection, a subsidiary of Punter Southall Group, for an estimated £1.25 million in cash.
Paul Cuff, co-CEO of XPS Pensions Group, said: “We are delighted to announce these two deals today. They are both consistent with our strategic focus on our core market of workplace pensions.
“The acquisition of the Kier Pensions Unit will add to our strength in the pensions administration market and has the potential to open up new opportunities in the public sector. Meanwhile we are pleased to find a good home for colleagues in our small Healthcare Consulting business, where we expect them to thrive in the future, whilst we focus relentlessly on what we do best.”