Pensioners should opt-in to winter fuel allowance and jobseekers should get personal welfare accounts, says think tank February 3, 2015 A think-tank with close links to the Conservative Party has outlined a series of changes to welfare that would affect pensioner benefits and Job Seekers Allowance and child benefit payments. Under Policy Exchange's Welfare Manifesto pensioners would be asked to opt-in to receive the Winter Fuel Allowance. Currently, the Winter Fuel Allowance is given to [...]
General Election 2015: Gordon Brown promises Scotland better pensions and benefits than rest of UK February 2, 2015 Later today, Gordon Brown will promise to give Scots a better deal on pensions and benefits if Labour is voted in at the next general election. Speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh, the former Prime Minister is expected to say Scots will be able to top-up the normal benefits available to people across the [...]
BT’s pension deficit hits £7bn while profits rise from TV, broadband and sport customers January 30, 2015 The figures In its third quarter results, BT revealed revenue slipped two per cent to £13.2bn in the nine months to 31 December, while adjusted pre-tax profit leaped 11 per cent to £2.1bn. BT's consumer division, including TV, broadband and those all-important BT Sport customers, increased pre-tax profit by 43 per cent to £251m. Its business division also grew [...]
A cradle-to-grave savings service will empower us all to grasp pension freedoms January 29, 2015 The pension reforms announced in George Osborne’s 2014 Budget gave savers new freedoms. They marked the end of a paternalistic system, where the government dictated how your money was used in retirement, and completed a shift in responsibility for pension savings and retirement income from the state and the employer to the individual. This, however, [...]
Third of pension savers in limbo about plans for retirement pot January 27, 2015 One in three Brits with a pension are still in limbo about how to use the cash, just two months before new rules giving them the freedom to do what they want come into force, a survey has shown. New rules in April will scrap the requirement of savers to purchase an annuity with their [...]
Pension funds complain about Ellison’s influence over Oracle January 26, 2015 TWO EUROPEAN pension funds yesterday published an open letter to US software giant Oracle complaining about the influence that key shareholder Larry Ellison wields over the company and demanding it allow outside investors a greater say over pay policies. The letter marks the latest attempt in a four-year campaign by Dutch pension group PGGM and [...]
Defined benefit pensions axed from big firms January 18, 2015 Fewer of the UK’s largest firms are offering substantial defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The number of FTSE 100 companies offering sizeable DB schemes dropped from 65 to 56 in the 12 months to September, according to figures released yesterday by consultants JLT Employee Benefits. A DB scheme is defined as sizeable if the costs [...]
Pensioner bonds: George Osborne heralds over £1bn sold to over-65s as a “huge success” January 17, 2015 More than 100,000 savvy silver-haired savers have jumped at the chance to buy the government's new pensioner bonds, netting the Treasury more than £1bn in just two days. Chancellor George Osborne called it "the biggest opening sales of any retail financial product in Britain's modern history” after the one and three-year bonds went on sale [...]
Pensioner bond website crashes due to demand January 15, 2015 THE CHANCELLOR has proclaimed the launch of £10bn worth of guaranteed growth bonds for over 65s as a “huge success”. A rush of interested investors caused the National Savings and Investments (NSI) website to crash after the bonds were launched yesterday morning. The bonds offer market leading rates, at 2.8 per cent interest over one year or [...]
Pensioner bonds go on sale with up to 4 per cent interest rate for over-65s January 15, 2015 Excited savers clamoured for "granny bonds" which went on sale today, but the stellar demand has caused the National Savings and Investments website to crash. "We are currently experiencing high demand for our 65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds – customers may have to wait longer than normal to contact us," a spokesman for NS&I told the BBC. "We're [...]