UK pensions: Waspi campaign gets a boost as new survey finds that more than half of those scheduled to retire this year are already working past state pension age or are considering doing so February 19, 2016 Many of those due to retire this year are technically already pensioners, and yet more fear they cannot afford to give up work, a new report has found. The study released today by Prudential discovered that 51 per cent of those who are currently planning to retire this year have already reached state pension age [...]
UK pensions: Actuaries slam idea of triple lock, saying protecting pension provision for future generations depends more on better financial education February 18, 2016 Actuaries have today cast doubt on the government's key mechanism for calculating state pension. Responding to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s inquiry on intergenerational fairness, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has said that triple lock is not only unnecessary but would also place an unfair burden on workers in the future. Under triple lock, basic state [...]
Pension changes: Government plans to let pensioners sell their annuities on a new secondary market have been universally criticised February 18, 2016 Pensioners will be able to sell on their annuities from next year, swapping regular income payments for a lump sum. It’s part of government plans to give greater freedom to the 5m pensioners who are already living with annuities. Some may be regretting their choice, and the idea of a fat lump sum instead of [...]
Millennials, houses, retirement and expectations: Why 20-somethings shouldn’t dismiss the idea of saving £800 a month if they want a nice lifestyle in retirement February 18, 2016 It’s quite interesting reading some of the articles around at the moment regarding problems for the younger generations today. It seems as though priorities and squeezed disposable income are something new, when in reality most generations have faced financial difficulties through their lifetime. There are always exceptions to the rule, so I apologise in advance for generalising. The older [...]
Is the UK heading for a recession? It’s too early to call – but this is how investors can potentially avoid missteps February 18, 2016 The troubled performance of credit and equity markets in the last six months suggests the chance of an imminent UK recession has risen. We’re not calling it yet but it pays to know what happened in the last financial crisis to avoid missteps. We studied the FTSE 350 earnings-per-share and stock price trends seen during [...]
The robotics revolution: Why investment in robots is booming February 18, 2016 Robots are continuing their long march towards world domination. Their ultimate supremacy over humans is predicted to be reached in 2035, the point in time when robots will begin to develop at a faster rate than us mere humans can comprehend. But right now, robots have reached a point of intelligence where they will soon [...]
Bias and behaviour: Vestra Wealth’s David Scott on investing in uncertainty February 18, 2016 What do we mean by “risk”? For some, it is the absence of certainty. Others associate it with danger. Whatever your view, it is an inevitable part of investing. Since the start of the year, investors have been dumping equities, and to some extent the rout has been self-perpetuating. As share values fall, we tend [...]
Stamp of approval: Has the Chinese economic slowdown licked the value of philatelic investments? February 18, 2016 When share prices are volatile, fine wine, art and other tangible assets offer the bittersweet assurance that your investment will only turn to dust if exposed to excessive sunlight or extremes in temperature. Interest in philatelic investment, or stamp collecting, peaked after the financial crisis as investors turned to alternative asset classes to diversify their [...]
Investing in India: Reform wobbles have not jeopardised the country’s rise and rise February 18, 2016 For all the bombast, it is possible to see the still relatively new premiership of Indian leader Narendra Modi as a disappointment. Despite the Prime Minister’s overwhelming General Election victory in 2014, his promises of business-friendly reforms have remained largely unfulfilled. Crucially, the passing of an all-embracing VAT, known as the Goods and Services Tax [...]
Osborne’s pensions tax relief shake-up explained: What could happen and what should you do about it? February 18, 2016 Former pensions minister Steve Webb made headlines earlier in the month by claiming that abolishing Britain’s current system of pension tax relief could be George Osborne’s “’Gordon Brown’ moment” (referring to the latter’s notorious tax raid on occupational pensions in 1997). Now a director at Royal London, Webb pulled few punches in outlining what he [...]
