Welfare coddles pensioners at the expense of the working poor – but it needn’t be like this October 29, 2015 The two biggest drivers of government spending, welfare and the NHS, will continue to dominate the political agenda this Parliament. Thanks to Monday’s vote in the House of Lords, delaying changes to tax credits, a £4bn hole in the government’s spending plans has now opened up. As ministers rethink their plans, they should address another [...]
UK pensions: People unwilling to pay full price for pensions advice, warns charity Citizens Advice October 29, 2015 Just two per cent of people are willing to pay a typical independent financial advisor’s (IFA) fee for pensions advice, research from charity Citizens Advice revealed today. While 47 per cent of the more than 2,000 people surveyed said they would be happy to spend some sort of fee for advice on defined contribution pension [...]
UK pensions: Almost £3bn withdrawn from pension savings pots since April this year, HMRC reveals October 28, 2015 HMRC announced today that 251,000 flexible payments from pensions, totalling £2.7bn, had been made since the pension freedoms rules came into effect in this April. In the last six months, 146,000 people have made a withdrawal from their pension under the new rules. The figures also showed that the number of people taking flexible payments [...]
Axa Wealth reveals new business jumped by 43 per cent in the third quarter October 27, 2015 Axa Wealth announced its third-quarter results today, revealing that new business had shot up 43 per cent to £578m. Pensions and funds under management for the pensions and investments company also grew by 14 per cent to £30.4bn. Results were also positive for Architas, Axa Wealth’s multi-manager arm, which reported an increase in assets of [...]
One in seven over-55s has been targeted by pension fraudsters October 27, 2015 New pension rules may have given savers more freedom when it comes to what to do with their cash – but it's pricked up the ears of fraudsters, too: new figures have suggested as many as 14 per cent of over-55s in work – that's about one in seven – reckon they've been targeted by a scammer since the new [...]
LV posts 19 per cent growth in sales of retirement products post-pension freedoms October 26, 2015 LV announced a growth in sales of retirement products of 19 per cent to £1.1bn over the last nine months. Protection sales also rose by 35 per cent to £209m for the period, contributing towards a total of 22 per cent growth in sales to £1.3bn for the life and pensions division of the financial services [...]
UK pension schemes face £62bn rise in liabilities if interest rates stay low – JLT Employee Benefits October 26, 2015 UK private sector pension schemes could find their aggregate liabilities increase by as much as £62bn if an interest rate rise fails to materialise one year after market expectations, research by JLT Employee Benefits has revealed. If the pension consultancy firm’s predictions are correct, employers might have to find an extra £2m on average to [...]
Businesses call on government to create more stability around pensions regulation October 26, 2015 Most businesses feel pensions regulation stability should be a priority for government, a report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Mercer has revealed. In a survey released today of more than 160 corporate leaders, who between them are responsible for £115bn worth of assets invested in pensions, 79 per cent thought that the [...]
UK’s pension system is still lagging behind: landmark freedoms have not gone far enough say critics October 22, 2015 Sweeping reforms to the UK pension system do not go far enough, according to an international report that says Britain fares badly compared to many peer countries. Despite recent changes, the UK's public and state pensions remain "almost entirely unfunded", say analysts from the Melbourne Mercer Global Pensions Index (MMGPI), while the basic state pension [...]
More than £15bn lies forgotten in pensions and savings in the UK, thanks to Britons forgetting their bank details October 21, 2015 Forgotten passwords and lost details have cost Britons more than £15bn in unclaimed bonds, pensions, insurance policies and lost lottery tickets. Figures from Beagle Street life insurance provider show that as of the end of September, an estimated £5bn was sitting in dormant bank accounts, along with £3bn-worth of pensions that have not been collected, [...]