Gap between RPI and CPI is a £100bn problem for final salary pension schemes October 18, 2016 Experts said that today's inflation figures indicate that £100bn could be saved by switching annual adjustments in pension pay outs from the retail price index (RPI) to the consumer price index (CPI). Defined benefit, or final salary, pension schemes are adjusted for inflation and many have a "hardwire" link to RPI rather than the government's current main reference index, the CPI. RPI for September was [...]
Economic minister Simon Kirby bins plans for secondary annuity market: Is this a sign that more pension reforms are on the horizon? October 18, 2016 One of George Osborne's cornerstone policies on increasing pension freedoms has been dropped by the government, the economic secretary announced today. In March 2015, the government announced plans to set up a secondary market in order to give pensioners greater access to cashing in annuities. Read more: Over-55s need to go on this kind of shopping spree more [...]
Five ways government can cut the soaring cost of car insurance for honest drivers October 18, 2016 The rising cost of insurance understandably concerns many motorists. The average comprehensive motor insurance premium has risen by 10 per cent over the last year. Today we lift the lid on what is driving up the costs of motor insurance, and what is needed to give hard-pressed honest motorists a break. Lifting the Bonnet on [...]
Are you part of a failed final salary pension scheme? Your income could be about to rise October 17, 2016 Pensioners involved in failed final salary schemes will receive a boost in their incomes from next year, the government has said. The Pension Protection Fund safeguards final salary schemes if employers fail and they cannot provide the money to employees they were promised. But anyone who is an early retiree, or who is not yet retired [...]
Higher taxes and more debt are the only alternatives to real state pension reform October 13, 2016 Engineering an exit from the European Union will be the most significant administrative challenge faced by Whitehall since the Second World War. But ministers must resist the temptation to put the public service reform agenda on the backburner. The economic uncertainty created by June’s referendum means that driving efficiency is now more important than ever. [...]
Experts react to the Cridland report on the state pension age October 13, 2016 The former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, John Cridland, today published an interim report into the state pension age for the department of work and pensions. The report's 100 pages covered a lot of ground and although it shied away from making firm recommendations, it may gave an indication into how the government plans to [...]
A government commissioned report unveils a series wide-ranging ideas for shaking-up the state pension October 13, 2016 The state pension age could be set to rise further after the former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry issued his provisional findings to the government. John Cridland today issued an interim report on the state pension age and although it fell short of making specific recommendations, the report gave a steer to the department for work and pensions (DWP) [...]
EY reaches settlement over long-running $7.3bn Nortel Networks bankruptcy saga October 13, 2016 A settlement has been reached in the long-running global insolvency of Canadian telecoms giant Nortel Networks' European-based companies. Three groups of creditors, including 33,000 UK pensioners, Canadian pensioners and US bondholders, had been unable to agree who gets what from the $7.3bn (£6bn) to be distributed since the company’s collapse seven years ago. The battle has been over [...]
Would the chancellor just damage the incentive to save if he tinkers with pension tax relief at the Autumn Statement? October 12, 2016 Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London and former pensions minister, says Yes. Some things in life are about more than the short term, and pensions planning is surely one of those things. But how can individuals, employers and the pensions industry plan for the future when the rules are changed on an almost annual [...]
Pensions lifetime allowance: Savings over £1m face a tax charge of up to 55 per cent, but if your employer is paying into a scheme for you, take the hit October 12, 2016 More than 90,000 UK savers have stopped putting money into their pension since 2012 for fear of incurring tax charges, it emerged this weekend, following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by former pensions minister Steve Webb, now director of policy at Royal London. The pensions lifetime allowance (LTA) limits the amount any individual can [...]