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.
Pension transfer values - as measured by the XPS Pensions Group Transfer Value Index - fluctuated “mildly” during June 2018 with a small fall during the month, says the firm.
The index was £234,000 at the end of May and £233,000 at the end of June.
The difference between maximum and minimum readings of the Transfer Value Index over June was £4,400 (or around 1.9%).
The index tracks the transfer value that would be provided by an example DB scheme to a member aged 64 who is currently entitled to a pension of £10,000 each year starting at age 65 (increasing each year in line with inflation).
XPS points out that different schemes calculate transfer values in different ways so a given individual may therefore receive a transfer value from their scheme that is “significantly different” from that quoted by the index.
Sankar Mahalingham, head of DB Growth, XPS Pensions Group, said: “Transfer values have been stable over the first half of 2018, during which the Index has fluctuated by only £8,300 (or around 3.6%).
“If we compare this to 2017, when in both halves of the year the index fluctuated by £14,000 (or around 6%), we can see that although transfer values remain close to historic highs in 2018, there has been a notable reduction in volatility.
“Given the recent UK political upheaval and its potential impact on the approach to Brexit, coupled with the changing global political climate (for instance in relation to possible escalation of trade wars), it remains to be seen whether this low volatility in markets and transfer values will continue over the coming months.”
XPS Pensions Group claims to be the largest pure pensions consultancy in the UK, specialising in pensions actuarial, investment consulting and administration, with revenues of over £110 million. The parent company is also a significant SIPP provider.
The company works with over 1,200 pension schemes, including 25 with over £1bn of assets, and undertakes pensions administration for over 600,000 scheme members.