The increasing number of self-employed people is causing a real headache for pensions April 28, 2016 The recent trend towards self-employment could potentially create problems for pensions, a report out today warns. According to the research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), self-employment is now at its highest level for 40 years but less than a third (31 per cent) of those who are self-employed are saving into a private pension. Meanwhile, 15 [...]
Baroness Altmann tells MPs that UK pension system not as unfair as critics say April 27, 2016 The pensions minister has today told MPs that the UK's pensions system is not as unfair to younger generation as some critics have said it is. Speaking in front of the Work and Pensions Committee today, Baroness Ros Altmann cast doubt on the idea that today's retirees are living a life of luxury to the detriment [...]
Crowdfunding website offers new ways to invest in UK property development April 27, 2016 A new crowdfunding platform is offering investors the chance to buy a stake in potential housing development sites. Intro Crowd, launched today, offers the opportunity for investors to buy shares in companies owning the land plots for as little as £1,500. Gregory Baker, Intro Crowd’s chief executive, said: “The government has pledged to build one [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Clinton vs Trump – whose economic policy is better for markets? April 27, 2016 It is a momentous time in terms of geopolitics. A plethora of major events with potentially significant investment consequences will take place this year. They range from the Brexit hurricane in the UK, to tectonic shifts in the oil economy abroad. Even ostensibly local conflagrations, such as political deadlock in Brazil, may impact wider markets. But [...]
Hidden fees are a stealth tax on all our savings: This is no free market April 27, 2016 Do you know how much your pension costs? How much the folk looking after your money are charging you? No? It’s not easy to find out. I didn’t until I demanded the information. It wasn’t just the management fee they’d advertised but many times that. Small percentages that really added up. I became suspicious when I received [...]
Retirement is popular – but surviving the pensions crisis means encouraging work April 27, 2016 The Queen’s 90th birthday quite rightly dominated the media last week. Her Majesty continues to break all sorts of records, spending longer on the throne than Queen Victoria and being our oldest ever reigning monarch. But longevity should no longer give cause for surprise. The oldest participant in the London Marathon this year was 88, [...]
This is how many people there are retiring this year who have no pension savings… April 27, 2016 One in seven people who are retiring this year will be doing so with an empty pension pot, research released today has found. According to the study by Prudential, many soon-to-be pensioners will be left leaning on the state pension for support, despite this being £27.33 a week less than the Joseph Rowntree Foundation recommends as a minimum [...]
We’re now more on track with our pension plans, but don’t celebrate just yet April 27, 2016 Good news! We're now better prepared for a comfortable retirement than we were this time last year. But, before you get the party started, you might want to take a closer look at the figures. One in ten (12 per cent) are now on track to afford the lifestyle they want during their retirement, up [...]
Inflows and funds under management up for St James’s Place, and new mortgage products announced April 26, 2016 St James's Place revealed what it called a "strong" set of results today, as well as formally announcing the launch of a new mortgage offering. The wealth manager reported group funds under management of £62bn for the three months ended March 2016, up from £55.8bn the year before, while gross inflows increased to £2.5bn, up [...]
Executive pay: Focus on remuneration packages is distracting from the real issues April 26, 2016 April hasn’t been a good month to be on a remuneration committee. Earlier this month BP came under fire for awarding their chief executive a £14m deal; last week the Investment Association stated that boardroom pay practice “isn’t fit for purpose”. Anyone with responsibility for setting executive pay could be forgiven for keeping their heads below the [...]