Popular News
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17 pension firms sign up to Mansion House Accord
A new Mansion House Accord backed by 17 pension firms aims to help DC pension savers by using private markets to boost potential net returns, while strengthening investment in the UK.
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Specialist expat SIPP adviser declared in default
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has declared financial adviser AXG Advice Ltd (FRN: 450813) as failed.
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Trust in pensions sector drops for first time in 5 years
Public trust in the pensions industry has dropped for the first time in five years, according to an annual survey.
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Advisers changing retirement advice due to IHT shake-up
Financial advisers are turning away from pension wrappers and instead utilising pension gifting, annuities and onshore bonds as they prepare for the upcoming changes to inheritance tax, according to a new report.
Latest Blog
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James Jones-Tinsley: Aiming for an advice-guidance sweetspot
As Nikhil Rathi is reappointed as CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for another five years, the FCA has set out its strategic direction for 2025/26, with important implications for financial advisers.
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Lisa Webster: Over-taxation of pensions remains an issue
HMRC’s January pension schemes newsletter announced changes to tax codes for pensions, and a few headlines followed proclaiming HMRC had finally fixed the over-taxation issue. It would be fantastic if that was the case, but despite nearly 10 years of getting it wrong, the problem isn’t resolved yet.
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Lisa Webster: Divorce impact on lump sums raises question
The lifetime allowance may have been consigned to the annals of history but the various forms of protection are still relevant in the new world, especially when it comes to the amount of pension commencement lump sum (PCLS) that can be taken.
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Martin Tilley: How education can tackle pension scams
The dark reality of pension scams is that we don’t really know how common they are. Fraud is a crime which tends to have low reporting events and with pension scams, it’s no different. The emotional toll can be as large as the financial, with some people being too embarrassed to report that they have been the victim of a scam.
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Lisa Webster: Maximising protected tax-free cash
While 2024 ended with a lot of doom and gloom in the pension world following the big announcement on inheritance tax (IHT), there was some good news that may have slipped under the radar of some advisers.
The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally blocked the ‘mega-merger’ of platform providers FNZ and GBST due to concerns that the tie-up would hit competition and may lead to investors paying more.
Data from today’s Wealth and Assets Survey from the Office of National Statistics has shown that the self-employed continue to invest in property over pensions for their retirement.
The average pension fund increased 13.3% in the second quarter of this year, the strongest quarterly performance since Q3 2009, according to new data.
The Financial Conduct Authority is consulting on a rule change which may mean open ended property fund investors being required to give 180 days notice for a withdrawal of funds.
Mattioli Woods, the SIPP and wealth management firm, has received FCA approval for its £25m takeover of private client firm Hurley Partners.
HMRC has reported that £2.3bn was withdrawn from pensions flexibly in Q2 - a 17% fall year-on-year from the £2.8 billion seen in Q2 2019.