Free state pension forecasts now available for over-55s February 7, 2015 Millions more people are now eligible for a free estimate of how much is in their state pension pot. Over-55's can request a personalised pension statement estimating how much they'll receive upon retirement. It's calculated based on the national insurance contributions an individual has made to-date. The move will make retirement planning easier for more [...]
Pensions shake-up could give savers £100k boost when fee cap is introduced in April February 4, 2015 Savers paying into a pension could save up to £100,000 once a new cap on fees is introduced in April. Charges for those automatically enrolled in a workplace pension will be capped at 0.75 per cent a year compared to current average annual charges of 1.5 per cent used to cover the costs associated with [...]
Why deflation could prove bad news for your pension February 3, 2015 WITH falling oil prices and a weak euro both contributing to lower prices for many goods, we saw the headline rate of inflation in the UK fall to just 0.5 per cent in December – the joint lowest on record. There is a technical but important argument going on among economists, statisticians and officials on [...]
Pensioners should opt-in to winter fuel allowance and jobseekers should get personal welfare accounts, says think tank February 3, 2015 A think-tank with close links to the Conservative Party has outlined a series of changes to welfare that would affect pensioner benefits and Job Seekers Allowance and child benefit payments. Under Policy Exchange's Welfare Manifesto pensioners would be asked to opt-in to receive the Winter Fuel Allowance. Currently, the Winter Fuel Allowance is given to [...]
General Election 2015: Gordon Brown promises Scotland better pensions and benefits than rest of UK February 2, 2015 Later today, Gordon Brown will promise to give Scots a better deal on pensions and benefits if Labour is voted in at the next general election. Speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh, the former Prime Minister is expected to say Scots will be able to top-up the normal benefits available to people across the [...]
BT’s pension deficit hits £7bn while profits rise from TV, broadband and sport customers January 30, 2015 The figures In its third quarter results, BT revealed revenue slipped two per cent to £13.2bn in the nine months to 31 December, while adjusted pre-tax profit leaped 11 per cent to £2.1bn. BT's consumer division, including TV, broadband and those all-important BT Sport customers, increased pre-tax profit by 43 per cent to £251m. Its business division also grew [...]
A cradle-to-grave savings service will empower us all to grasp pension freedoms January 29, 2015 The pension reforms announced in George Osborne’s 2014 Budget gave savers new freedoms. They marked the end of a paternalistic system, where the government dictated how your money was used in retirement, and completed a shift in responsibility for pension savings and retirement income from the state and the employer to the individual. This, however, [...]
Third of pension savers in limbo about plans for retirement pot January 27, 2015 One in three Brits with a pension are still in limbo about how to use the cash, just two months before new rules giving them the freedom to do what they want come into force, a survey has shown. New rules in April will scrap the requirement of savers to purchase an annuity with their [...]
Pension funds complain about Ellison’s influence over Oracle January 26, 2015 TWO EUROPEAN pension funds yesterday published an open letter to US software giant Oracle complaining about the influence that key shareholder Larry Ellison wields over the company and demanding it allow outside investors a greater say over pay policies. The letter marks the latest attempt in a four-year campaign by Dutch pension group PGGM and [...]
Defined benefit pensions axed from big firms January 18, 2015 Fewer of the UK’s largest firms are offering substantial defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The number of FTSE 100 companies offering sizeable DB schemes dropped from 65 to 56 in the 12 months to September, according to figures released yesterday by consultants JLT Employee Benefits. A DB scheme is defined as sizeable if the costs [...]