Displaying items by tag: AJ Bell

Much of my last 12 months has been spent touring the UK, talking to advisers about pension freedoms. Whilst I still have a few sessions to go, I’d like to share a few interesting findings with you.

So, Budget 2015 brought us another change to the lifetime allowance (LTA), with the proposal to reduce it from £1.25 million to £1 million. This now seems to be the pension policy of choice for at least two of the main political parties.

Sometimes you spot something a bit left field that makes you wonder about the wider implications and whether trouble is just over the horizon.

In May 2014, Steve Webb, addressing the Treasury Select Committee, indicated that the Guidance Guarantee "would be fairly basic ... fairly rudimentary ... fairly general ... but enough to get people to the starting gate".

As is often the case, come springtime I was asked whether there would be any changes in the upcoming 2014 budget. I thought about it, taking into consideration where we were with pension reform and with a General Election on the horizon, and I categorically said "No – too near to the Election." The rest is history!

Nearly two thirds of financial advisers fear that the pension reforms will be axed if the Government changes at the General Election, research suggests.