Aviva weathers pensions storm as bulk annuity sales rocket up August 8, 2014 Aviva was one of the top risers on the FTSE 100 yesterday, following publication of its half-year results. Its shares rose almost three per cent after reporting that operating profit for the half-year period was up four per cent to £1.05bn. The strong results prove Aviva is weathering the storm created by chancellor George Osborne [...]
Japan pension fund rumours boost markets August 8, 2014 JAPANESE stocks swelled yesterday on reports that the country’s colossal public pension fund was now preparing to make a significant move into domestic equities. The Nikkei, which had dropped during the day, jumped upward around an hour before the end of trading, finishing at 15,232.27, a rise of 0.48 per cent. The Topix index, which [...]
Forget pensions: We need radical Isa reform to really tackle the UK savings crisis August 4, 2014 The UK’s pensions crisis is no longer looming. It’s here. We are dangerously over-heating, and millions of British households, who are simply not saving enough for later life, face a bleak financial future – unless there is swift, radical action. UK adults need and deserve a solid framework that will help them save and plan [...]
Pensioners warned not to splash all their cash on a Lamborghini as Treasury unveils pension rules July 21, 2014 Pensioners tempted to splash all of their cash in one go on a new Lamborghini are being warned they would face a tax bill of £63,000, ahead of today’s confirmation from the government that it will push ahead with the biggest shake-up of the pensions industry in a century. Research by financial services provider NFU [...]
Thousands walk out over pay and pensions July 10, 2014 THOUSANDS of public sector workers across the country walked out on strike yesterday in dispute over pay and pensions. In the capital, teachers, firefighters and other public sector staff marched on Trafalgar Square. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude thanked staff who did not walk out, adding that estimates suggest half a million people did.
Wall Street-backed insurers and L&G buy out captains’ pensions July 10, 2014 Nearly 40,000 pensioners from the shipping industry have been insured by a Goldman Sachs and Blackstone-backed life company and Legal & General for £1.3bn. Rothesay Life, which is owned by the Wall Street giants, and the UK insurer have bought out members of the Merchant Navy Officers’ Pension Fund, which was founded in 1938 to [...]
Rising UK house prices give pensioners a boost July 8, 2014 Soaring house prices and the strong pound have boosted UK pensioners’ standard of living at home and abroad, a raft of new data showed yesterday. For expats living in the Eurozone, the basic pension increased by nearly 10 per cent in the past year, according to an analysis by Prudential. The strengthening pound pushed expats’ [...]
Pensions body opposes Sports Direct pay plan June 30, 2014 SPORTS Direct faced further calls yesterday to withdraw its proposed bonus scheme to reward its founder Mike Ashley, ahead of a planned shareholder meeting tomorrow. Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) said it had urged its members to vote against the 2015 bonus share scheme, joining similar calls from the Association of British Insurers and [...]
BNP Paribas set to be given six months’ grace before suspension June 30, 2014 BNP Paribas has negotiated terms to water down the record $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine it is expected to be handed today for alleged sanctions violations in the US. France’s biggest bank has won a six-month stay of execution on its suspension from clearing US dollar transactions, according to the Financial Times. That would give it until [...]
BT leads the FTSE 100 fallers on pension and regulation fears June 16, 2014 TELECOMS group BT dragged the FTSE 100 index down yesterday on concerns that it will be hit by an increase in its pension deficit and that Ofcom is preparing to crackdown on its wholesale pricing of superfast broadband. BT’s shares dropped 2.4 per cent, the biggest individual faller on the FTSE 100, with traders citing [...]