It might not be our problem in the future: Southern rail’s owner cuts pension costs to reflect “limited responsibility” November 29, 2016 It's been a nightmare year for Southern rail. But its owner was given a boost today after revealing its profits will leap by 38 per cent, simply by changing the way it accounts for its railway pension costs. Go-Ahead shares were one of the top movers in the FTSE 250 this morning, up over three per cent, following [...]
Baroness Ros Altmann: I still expect Sir Philip Green to sort BHS pension deficit November 28, 2016 Some people may have abandoned hope of the BHS pension deficit being plugged, but a former pensions minister has revealed she still has faith in Sir Philip Green being true to his word. Baroness Ros Altmann has said that, although the retailer's collapse while it was running a pension deficit worth £571m had shaken people's trust in defined [...]
Bin the pensions triple-lock, or at least lower minimum annual increase, says Tory heavyweight November 26, 2016 Just days after the Chancellor confirmed the pensions triple-lock would be saved, a heavy hitting Conservative MP has once again reaffirmed his desire to have the promise binned. Stephen Crabb, the former work and pensions secretary as well as one of the candidates in the Conservative Party leadership race said that the triple-lock had achieved what was [...]
Compare the (annuity) market: Financial watchdog wants customers to be offered more choice November 25, 2016 The UK's financial watchdog will force annuity providers to tell customers to shop around after it found that 80 per cent of customers would get a better dealing by doing so. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today revealed its own Black Friday push with plans for an "annuity comparator" to help people find out if there [...]
Pension triple-lock has been spared by Hammond despite concerns it was for the chop November 23, 2016 The pension triple-lock will not be abolished during the current parliament Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the Autumn Statement. Some experts had anticipated the triple-lock – which guarantees that pensions to rise by the highest of average earnings, the consumer price index, or 2.5 per cent – might be for the chop. But Hammond confirmed that this would not [...]
Savers will be offered new government-backed investment bond next year November 23, 2016 Savers will be offered a new government backed investment bond at the next Budget, the chancellor said today. The three-year bond will offer a 2.2 per cent interest rate on deposits of up to £3,000, and will be available through NS&I. It will be open to those aged 16 and over, available for 12 months from spring [...]
Sir Philip Green won’t be giving up his yacht any time soon, the work and pensions committee hears November 23, 2016 Assets owned by Sir Philip Green will not be seized by authorities for some time, as the process to force the former BHS owner to plug the retailer's terminal pension deficit is "very much at the earlier stage". The chief exec of The Pensions Regulator (TPR) Lesley Titcomb answered questions on the failure of BHS in front of the [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: Philip Hammond shouldn’t base changes to pensions tax relief on older people’s situation today November 22, 2016 According to some reports, tomorrow’s Autumn Statement could be both the first and last for the new chancellor, because Philip Hammond is said to be in favour of sticking to a single annual Budget. We’ve become used to the biannual format, with a fresh set of policies emerging from the chancellor’s red box twice each year. [...]
Pension Insurance Corporation will launch a £250m corporate bond to fund a raft of new business November 17, 2016 A wave of Britain's largest firms are planning to offload huge pension liabilities to a key market player. The Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), a company that specialises in taking pension headaches away from businesses, will today launch a £250m investment bond to fund a bottleneck of deals in late 2016 and early 2017. Sources close to the [...]
The Financial Conduct Authority puts communication “front and centre” as part of proposals for Lifetime Isa sales November 16, 2016 Britain's financial watchdog has set out its expectations on the rules of engagement for next year's launch of the Lifetime Isa. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today issued a consultation paper that proposed financial advisers must warn investors of the key penalties and opportunity costs of using the savings wrapper. Read more: Property or pensions? Why not both? [...]