Older people must shoulder their share of government spending cuts February 14, 2017 Given general improvements in technology and prosperity, younger generations should, in theory, always be better off than their parents. But with pensioner households now earning more than their working age equivalents, according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation, this can no longer be taken for granted. It is of course good news that older [...]
Tesco Bank’s chief exec says lenders don’t pay customers enough interest on current accounts February 2, 2017 The boss of Tesco Bank has hit out at high street rivals, claiming they make billions of pounds by skimping on the rate of interest paid to customers. Benny Higgins, who led the lender through a mammoth cyber attack on Tesco Bank last November, said the amount of switching between providers remains "stubbornly low", something lenders [...]
How can we get ourselves to save more? Use behavioural economics February 1, 2017 It's a convenient excuse – we all vow to save more when we earn more. A new survey by YouGov for Zurich UK of British adults in work found that more than two fifths (42 per cent) said that earning more would encourage them to save more into a pension. Unfortunately, they rarely actually do [...]
Slow and steady? Pension deficits need not be closed as report reveals trustees need to refocus January 31, 2017 Spiralling pension deficits are distracting those empowered to manage schemes away from making sure members receive the correct payouts. Almost all pension trustees do not see paying members as a key strategic driver, with many getting bogged down in the detail and failing to see the bigger picture, according to a report by actuarial specialists [...]
With over £9.2bn cashed in since April 2015, have pension freedoms been an unequivocal success? January 26, 2017 Ros Altmann, the former minister of state for pensions, says Yes. Pension freedoms could be the most popular pension reform ever. Suddenly, instead of having to lock into inflexible, potentially unsuitable insurance company annuities, you can choose how and when to use your fund. The average amount withdrawn was just around £5,000. If that’s all [...]
Filing your tax return for 2015-16: The questions you want answered January 25, 2017 If you've put off doing your tax return, I don’t blame you. It is hard to find the motivation to forage around for all those documents, only to part with your hard-earned cash. The bad news is that if you haven’t already got the ball rolling on your self-assessment form for the 2015-16 tax year, [...]
Undercover investigation reveals raft of failings from data-selling firms January 21, 2017 An undercover investigation has revealed the miniscule cost of buying personal information from data-selling firms. Posing as a would-be pension scammer, consumer group Which managed to access details of members of the public for as little as 4p. The investigation also highlighted significant failings by data-selling firms in undertaking sufficient due diligence on who it is [...]
Can you remember all the details? Millions of older pension pots are being lost, research suggests January 19, 2017 Millions more Britons may now be saving into pension pots, but over a fifth are losing track of retirement savings as result of holding multiple schemes. Research by Aegon revealed 62 per cent of people now have more than one pension scheme, usually as a result of changing jobs or employers changing providers. Read more: It's [...]
Tata Steel: Infrastructure investment is the key to solving the pension problem, says City heavy-hitter January 18, 2017 Hopes British Steel pension scheme members could be paid in full were raised today after a City heavy-hitter proposed a radical deal to spin-off the mammoth £15bn fund. Tata Steel is currently in talks with German industrials firm Thyssenkrupp to buy its European operations – a deal understood to only go ahead if the pension scheme, which serves 130,000 members, can [...]
Just when it was all going so well, the pensions levy might be about to ruin the auto enrolment party January 18, 2017 Stop the clock: the DWP’s consultation on the pensions levy ended this morning. So far, so boring. Well – boring but important for things like fairness, competition and the state not interfering in the private sector or distorting markets… those sorts of mundane things. The situation: The Pensions Regulator collects a flat annual “pensions levy” per [...]