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.
The review was launched after the FOS was heavily criticised following an undercover investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, in March, which appeared to show that complaints were being handled by insufficiently trained officials.
The documentary suggested that some officials had to use internet search engines to find out about the products they were considering.
Mr Lloyd, who is vice chair of Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and is UK chairman of complaints handler Resolver, will lead the independent probe and his remit has also been revealed.
He is to be granted “full access and the resources necessary” to carry out a review and can go where the investigation takes him, with unrestricted access to FOS staff and all documents.
The review will be completed by the end of June.
A document published by FOS, in relation to the review’s parameters, read: “The review will assess the evidence presented by Dispatches in respect of each of the issues raised in the programme, to consider whether there are any matters of substance which should be addressed, although it will not be restricted to the issues raised in the programme.
“If the review finds matters for concern, it will seek to identify possible root causes for them (such as management action or inaction, cultural factors, staff objectives and performance management, organisational structure or any other underlying factor) and how they might be addressed.
“The review will also consider staff morale and the factors which contribute to it.”
It was also revealed that the investigation will look into the extent to which the current governance and arrangements for providing assurance about the work of FOS to its board, including whistleblowing procedures, “are applied effectively and consistently.”
As head of the review, Mr Lloyd will be able to make recommendations for strengthening governance and assurance arrangements in his final report.
The ABI is concerned that half of fully withdrawn pension pots are not spent but shifted into other savings and investments which the ABI says could mean consumers paying too much tax and also missing out on compound investment growth.
It fears some consumers are blundering due to lack of long term planning and engagement with their retirement options.
The trade body’s plan is contained in a new report, Interventions in the Retirement Market, which outlines a series of measures the financial provider trade body wants to see.
The ABI says that three years on from the dawn of pension flexibility reforms under the Pension Freedom changes, it is “stepping up” efforts to ensure that consumers are getting the best out of their retirement.
The ABI’s five point plan promotes active consumer engagement – empowering consumers to make their own, well-informed decisions through improved communications and use of guidance.
The five interventions the ABI wants to see are:
• Intervention 1: Tailored and phased customer communications throughout a saver’s life
• Intervention 2: Creating the mid-life MOT
• Intervention 3: Prompting more people to use guidance
• Intervention 4: Making the retirement risk warnings fit for purpose
• Intervention 5: Improvements to communications once someone has retired
Rob Yuille, head of retirement policy at the ABI, said: "Pension freedoms put more power into the hands of consumers, but this flexibility also increased the complexity and risks that consumers face.
“Our recommendations are for interventions that will transform the way people interact with their pension pots and help people navigate their choices. We’re calling on a number of stakeholders today to help us to deliver the practical steps needed to make these interventions happen.”