Pensions reform: Lump sums don’t mean Lamborghinis as Britain’s savers are still being prudent October 5, 2015 Pensioners were expected to be buying up Lamborghinis in droves this summer, after landmark pension freedoms came into effect in April. The new system allows people over 55 to take some – or even all – of their pension as a lump sum. It wipes away old restrictions which only let retirees have a [...]
Know your stuff: Five things everyone needs to hear about pensions October 2, 2015 Charges and not taking enough risk can massively dent your long-term savings. Seismic shifts have taken place in the pensions world in recent years – and there may be more to come. Generous employer pension schemes have all but disappeared, and new freedoms brought in by the government this year aim to offer savers [...]
Pension lobby calls for flat rate tax changes October 1, 2015 Pensions savers could soon see a single rate of tax relief if industry proposals come into force. Last night, the government closed its consultation on how pensions should be taxed, after providers were invited to put forward their concerns. Pensions experts have called for a single level of tax to replace the current, tiered [...]
One in six retired men go back to work – and are happier for it September 29, 2015 Working men might dream of retiring to travel the world or simply relax after slogging it out at work – but once they stop working, it seems many of them crave a return to the office. A new study has found that an increasing number of men u-turn on their retirement plans in favour of [...]
We need to defuse our pensions timebomb – The City View September 24, 2015 The current debate over Europe’s migration crisis centres on how many refugees each country “can afford to absorb”. The implication is that each person who migrates into an area brings an economic cost, and that allowing them in is an act of charity. But there are many economists who argue that this just [...]
UK pensions advice: Improve awareness, know what you’re saving and whether it’s enough September 16, 2015 Pensions awareness is a real concern for the UK and the statistics are worrying. Only 27 per cent of people say they feel “very informed” about pensions, for example, according to new research by Towers Watson. And last year, a government report discovered that 11.9m people in the UK are “saving too little”. [...]
UK pensions deficits: FTSE 100 firms fear pension pain as workers retire September 6, 2015 Pension schemes represent a “material risk” for many of the largest companies in the FTSE 100, new research shows. Six firms, including BAE Systems, British Airways-owner International Airlines Group, RSA and Royal Bank of Scotland, all have total disclosed pension liabilities almost double their equity market value, so says JLT Employee Benefits’ quarterly report [...]
Pensioners shun Lamborghini lifestyle as savers opt for sound investments September 3, 2015 Fears that savers would blow their pension pots after new freedoms were introduced have failed to materialise, according to new figures that show Brits opting for sounder investments. Savers took £2.5bn out of their pensions, about £27m a day, during three months following new rules that came into place in April. Yet, during the [...]
Fossil Fuel divestment: The feel-good climate change policy that would undermine public pension funds September 2, 2015 Most would agree that climate change could pose a threat to the economy. However, measures to combat it will ultimately prove counter-productive if they conflict with the interests of the taxpayer. Forcing government to pursue losses from taxpayer-funded investments in the name of environmentalism, for example, would be an obvious misuse of public [...]
A pensions perfect storm is brewing – but longer lives needn’t prove a nightmare August 26, 2015 An old friend recently confided that there is one thing he is afraid of more than death – and that is living too long. Longer lifespans and low interest rates can combine to make retirement a potential nightmare of penury. Public finances face a related challenge. According to IMF research, public pension expenditure [...]