Punter Southall Aspire buys JDP Financial Services in bid to expand financial planning arm October 8, 2018 Wealth management and pensions firm Punter Southall Aspire today announce the acquisition of JDP Financial Services in an effort to expand its financial planning division. Punter offers integrated financial advice service and investment administration platform for employers and individuals, alongside other wealth management services. The deal for the Bedford based firm, which was agreed for [...]
Legal & General completes £2.4bn buy-out of folded telco’s pension scheme October 8, 2018 Insurer Legal & General has today finalised a £2.4bn buyout of the Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan, nearly a decade after its telecommunications sponsor collapsed, forcing it into the lifeboat. The deal will see the benefits of 15,500 pensioner members and 7,200 deferred members protected. It is the UK's joint second largest ever pensions buyout, matched [...]
When it comes to our social care crisis, prevention is the only cure October 8, 2018 Matt Hancock has survived his first party conference as the new health secretary, wearing his NHS pin proudly on his lapel. And top of the list of his departmental priorities is social care. It got a £240m spending boost last week, but that’s not the only approach on the table. One of Hancock’s recent suggestions [...]
Everyone’s a loser in today’s fabricated generation wars October 5, 2018 According to doomsayers in policy and media circles, the young have never had it so bad, and the fault lies with their greedy elders. The allegedly enormous, voracious baby boomer generation, living it up on the golf course with the ill-gotten gains from gold-plated pensions and over-valued houses, is in the firing line for causing [...]
Frank Field slams financial regulator over delay to pension advice fee decision October 4, 2018 Influential MP Frank Field has slammed the financial regulator for delaying a decision on whether to ban a model of charging for pensions advice which is believed to have driven mis-selling to thousands of retirees. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it sought views on whether to ban contingent charging – where a pension adviser [...]
Why the ethical finance industry is still behind the curve October 4, 2018 Ten years on since the financial crisis, there has already been a great deal of focus and contemplation on how financial services have changed over the past decade. For many consumers, banks are still distrusted, not helped by mis-selling scandals or paltry returns on savings accounts. There has been a notable shift in not only [...]
New rules to improve standards of master trust pensions forces 30 schemes out of market October 1, 2018 New rules which have come into force today aimed at improving standards with master trust pensions have led to 30 schemes leaving the market. From today, master trusts, schemes which bring pensions held by multiple employers under the same board of trustees, will need authorisation from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to ensure they meet new standards [...]
Live for today, but plan for your future retirement – are you saving enough, and looking after your health? September 26, 2018 UK life expectancy has failed to improve for the first time since 1982, according to figures from the ONS released yesterday. However, life expectancy remains relatively high for both women and men, at 82.9 years and 79.2 years respectively. But how can we ensure that our later years will be happy, healthy and, ultimately, [...]
Taxpayers to foot £65m bill from Carillion redundancies September 25, 2018 Taxpayers are set to cough up £65m in redundancy payouts following the collapse of outsourcer giant Carillion. The liquidated construction services company, which bucked under the weight of a £1.5bn debt pile in January, has so far paid out £50m of the total £65m after thousands of workers were made redundant. The figures also [...]
John McDonnell accused of a ‘wilful misunderstanding of business’ after radical conference speech September 24, 2018 One of the UK's biggest business groups pleaded with Labour not to see enterprise as "the enemy" after shadow chancellor John McDonnell delivered a radical speech at his party's conference. The Institute of Directors, which represents companies across the UK, urged McDonnell to abandon "sweeping measures and angry rhetoric" as he used a [...]