Higher taxes and more debt are the only alternatives to real state pension reform October 13, 2016 Engineering an exit from the European Union will be the most significant administrative challenge faced by Whitehall since the Second World War. But ministers must resist the temptation to put the public service reform agenda on the backburner. The economic uncertainty created by June’s referendum means that driving efficiency is now more important than ever. [...]
Experts react to the Cridland report on the state pension age October 13, 2016 The former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, John Cridland, today published an interim report into the state pension age for the department of work and pensions. The report's 100 pages covered a lot of ground and although it shied away from making firm recommendations, it may gave an indication into how the government plans to [...]
A government commissioned report unveils a series wide-ranging ideas for shaking-up the state pension October 13, 2016 The state pension age could be set to rise further after the former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry issued his provisional findings to the government. John Cridland today issued an interim report on the state pension age and although it fell short of making specific recommendations, the report gave a steer to the department for work and pensions (DWP) [...]
EY reaches settlement over long-running $7.3bn Nortel Networks bankruptcy saga October 13, 2016 A settlement has been reached in the long-running global insolvency of Canadian telecoms giant Nortel Networks' European-based companies. Three groups of creditors, including 33,000 UK pensioners, Canadian pensioners and US bondholders, had been unable to agree who gets what from the $7.3bn (£6bn) to be distributed since the company’s collapse seven years ago. The battle has been over [...]
Smoke and mirrors: Who’s responsible for greater transparency in equity crowdfunding? October 13, 2016 What's in store for crowdfunding now? The FCA has reached the final stages of its latest review of the rules governing the sector, and this comes at a critical time in the cycle, when many deals are starting to conclude (and failures are becoming painfully apparent). Moreover, investment volumes have fallen for the first time [...]
Would the chancellor just damage the incentive to save if he tinkers with pension tax relief at the Autumn Statement? October 12, 2016 Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London and former pensions minister, says Yes. Some things in life are about more than the short term, and pensions planning is surely one of those things. But how can individuals, employers and the pensions industry plan for the future when the rules are changed on an almost annual [...]
Fund managers join fight for more female FTSE 350 board members October 12, 2016 Jupiter, Old Mutual and Legal & General are among the fund managers to have made commitments to vote against board appointments at companies which do not have enough female executives. And the 30% Club, which is campaigning for FTSE 350 boards to be 30 per cent made up of women by 2020, has called on more investment companies to follow suit. Read [...]
Investors more worried about lower for longer interest rates than Brexit vote October 12, 2016 Rock bottom interest rates appear to have given people more headaches about where to stash their cash than the Brexit vote. Paul Abberley, chief executive at investment manager Charles Stanley, told City A.M. clients seemed generally more concerned about the "near zero interest rate" than they did about the Brexit vote, adding the lower for longer policy [...]
Interactive Investor announces takeover deal to create UK’s second largest online broker October 12, 2016 Interactive Investor has agreed a takeover deal for TD Bank’s European direct investing business to form the UK’s second largest online broker. The transaction, which will create a firm with 300,000 customer relationships and assets under administration of £18bn, is being financed by JC Flowers & Co funds. Read more: Star manager Woodford invests £21m in brokers AJ Bell [...]
Pensions lifetime allowance: Savings over £1m face a tax charge of up to 55 per cent, but if your employer is paying into a scheme for you, take the hit October 12, 2016 More than 90,000 UK savers have stopped putting money into their pension since 2012 for fear of incurring tax charges, it emerged this weekend, following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by former pensions minister Steve Webb, now director of policy at Royal London. The pensions lifetime allowance (LTA) limits the amount any individual can [...]