The Queen’s Speech: Recall, pensions and heroism June 4, 2014 Small business bill If a big bank turns down a small firm’s loan application, they will have to refer it on to other lenders. Zero-hours contracts can no longer include an exclusivity clause that ban workers from taking several such jobs. Tax-free childcare will be extended to under-12s from 2015 in a bid to make [...]
UK mega pensions aren’t a bad idea – if government can resist destroying them June 3, 2014 IN THE Queen’s Speech today, the government is likely to give the go-ahead for large pension schemes along Dutch lines. Such collective defined contribution schemes have many advantages. They allow managers to pursue return targets without giving guarantees. Risks can be shared between generations and costs can be kept down as a result of economies [...]
Standard Life’s shares dip after pension change June 2, 2014 FURTHER changes to the pensions market, expected to be announced by the government in the Queen’s speech tomorrow, caused Standard Life shares to dip by nearly 1.7 per cent yesterday. News that ministers are to legalise collective pension schemes similar to those seen in Holland and Canada has caused unease, after warnings of risks associated [...]
Britain beware: How the Dutch pension system pits young against old June 2, 2014 IN TOMORROW’s Queen’s Speech, the government is expected to include the “Collective Defined Contribution” model (CDC) of the Dutch pension system in a forthcoming Pensions Bill. Pensions minister Steve Webb is right to consider it a strong model. But he must also be careful not to repeat the Dutch system’s mistakes, and should ensure that [...]
Labour pension plan won’t help the lowest paid May 29, 2014 LABOUR’S plan to overhaul the pensions industry has come under fire after it emerged that those on low incomes could stand to benefit by as little as £10 per year. The proposal, announced yesterday, could see the threshold for automatic enrolment into the workplace pension scheme lowered from its current level of £10,000 to the [...]
Why Labour’s pension revolution is a bit of a damp squib May 29, 2014 Labour launched a pensions taskforce today, alongside plans to look at broadening the scope of the workplace pension scheme. Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves outlined plans for the task force, headed by professor Dr David Blake of Cass Business School and set up with key industry backers and policy experts, to encourage people [...]
Royal London boss calls on FCA chief to look at pension rules May 13, 2014 THE BOSS of mutual Royal London has called on the financial regulator to tighten up the rules on advice offered to people on their retirement, specifically around pensions. Announcing the group’s first quarter results, Phil Loney said the government’s guarantee of guidance, outlined in the Budget in March, does not go far enough. “There is [...]