Ask the expert: Is £500k enough to retire? Personal Finance Fidelity personal finance specialist Marianna Hunt is back to help a reader who wants to know if they have enough in their portfolio to not only retire but to live the lifestyle they want. Q. I’m 55 and have built up a portfolio worth around £500,000 – split across pensions and ISAs. I’ve also paid [...]
Pension ping pong: Now government backtracks on mandation powers Politics The government has been forced to water down controversial mandation powers in the Pension Schemes Bill after prolonged uproar from the pensions industry and opposition MPs and peers. Pensions minister Torsten Bell has tried to push through the bill with a clause that gives ministers the power to force funds to invest in UK infrastructure [...]
Retiring abroad could lose Brits over £70,000 with state pension at risk Personal Finance British pensioners eyeing a retirement in the sun could see thousands wiped off their state pension, top financial planners have warned. Brits planning to retire overseas during this tax year could forgo more than £77,000 in state pension income over the next 20 years, if they opt to move to a country where payments are [...]
‘Ridiculous’: Torsten Bell under fire over pension schemes bill April 2, 2026 London’s pension industry is in uproar over government proposals to keep what is known as ‘backstop power’ over the precise level of investment from funds in specific UK assets. Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, has become the focus of anger at Whitehall’s attempts to exert a degree of control over where some of the biggest [...]
Pension transfers: Sluggish providers holding up your money March 18, 2026 Some UK pension providers and administrators are taking eighteen times longer to transfer retirement savings than their counterparts, leaving savers waiting months for their money to be moved. The fastest transfers took just five days, while the slowest took between a staggering 47 to 90 days, according to the latest analysis from Pension Bee. Some [...]
Older Brits avoid investing over fears of losing money March 13, 2026 Older Brits are swerving the stock market over fears of losing capital despite growing warnings that people are approaching retirement without sufficient funds. Baby Boomers and Gen X admitted that they avoided investing and kept money in savings accounts, claiming the potential risk of losing capital over rides boosting wealth, according to the latest survey [...]
House of Lords warns ministers’ pension power grab ‘dangerous and unjustified’ March 11, 2026 A member of the House of Lords has described the reserve power in the Pension Schemes Bill as “dangerous and unjustified” as ministers face intense scrutiny over the detail of their overhaul of the pensions system. Speaking in the House of Lords during an urgent question session, Baroness Stedman-Scott, a Conservative member, called out the [...]
Ask the expert: I’m in my 40s. Should I start derisking my pension? February 10, 2026 Fidelity personal finance specialist Marianna Hunt is back to help a reader who wants to retire early but is unsure on how to protect the value of their investments as they prepare to stop working. Q: I’m in my late 40s and calculate that I’ve got enough saved into pensions to retire at age 57. [...]
Auto-enrolment closed the gap but more needs to be done, says pension minister February 3, 2026 The introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012 helped boost pension savings, but more needs to be done to encourage people to save for retirement, a leading government official has said. Speaking at the Association of British Insurers conference, pensions minister Torsten Bell acknowledged the importance of auto enrolment, with savings rates for eligible workplace employees doubling [...]
Millions of parents miss out on free pension cash by overlooking this rule January 22, 2026 Millions of UK parents are missing out on hundreds in free pension cash after being left in the dark by employers about a pension rule for new parents. While most parents are aware of child benefits and junior ISAs, many are losing as much as £720 per year after overlooking a far less familiar perk. [...]