The one pension topic guaranteed to create a healthy discussion is that of defined benefit (DB) transfers.
‘Another one bites the dust!’ A tenuous way to start an article I know, but it is in response to the news that another insurance company has decided not to continue in the annuity market (LV=).
If you are quiet you will hear the whoosh of kites being flown! It is that time of the year – with the Autumn Statement on the horizon, everyone wants their ideas to be considered. Some of those kites are a new age-related bonus system, a call for a ‘pensions bonfire’ (to get rid of complexity), and various suggestions of periods of no change and independent pension commissions.
One of the big themes recently in all areas of business has been financial literacy and education, particularly in terms of bringing some degree of financial education to the school syllabus.
I read John Moret’s article ‘End of era for Sipps world’ with interest the other week.
So, finally the Sipp industry will see the new capital adequacy rules come into force on 1 September 2016.
I was at a street party for the Queen’s birthday and someone asked me what I did, and when I said I worked in pensions the immediate response was – “so you are a financial adviser?”
How popular have the pension freedoms been? In the period running up to April 2015, I was often asked what I thought we would see with the advent of the pension freedoms.
As we approached 6 April this year the press started to look at the ten-year anniversary of ‘A-Day’ – the day on which pension simplification regulations came into force. Their conclusions have, unfortunately, been anything but positive.
While a lot of people are breathing a sigh of relief at the lack of pension reform in the Budget I think we do know a little more of where we stand and that is resoundingly in the middle.
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