Popular News
-
James Jones-Tinsley: Guided Retirement Duty could be game changer
During May, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), sponsored by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), concluded that defined contribution (DC) pension savers – including those in SIPPs, as well as in Workplace Pensions - require more guidance when choosing suitable retirement products.
-
Welsh pension transfer adviser firm goes into administration
Cambrian Associates Ltd (FRN 158976), an adviser firm based in North Wales, has gone into administration 51 years after being set up.
-
20% don’t know what type of pension they have
A fifth, 20%, of people don’t know what type of pension they have.
-
TPT launches DC decumulation product
Workplace pension provider TPT Retirement Solutions has launched a DC decumulation product, which it said has been designed to simplify retirement income planning for savers.
-
Workers in the dark about workplace pensions
Two in five, 43%, UK workers don’t know how much they are contributing to their workplace pension.
Latest Blog
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Tilley: Is the age 75 trigger date now irrelevant?
Age 75 has been an important milestone in pension rules since A day in 2006. It was the latest age at which a compulsory annuity purchase was required (prior to Pensions Freedoms). It's arguably it’s long been an arbitrary line in the sand, noting that life expectancy has been on the increase for the last 20 years, but this trigger age has remained unchanged.
Around 350,000 UK expats living in the Gulf have been warned they could be breaking the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) limit for pensions tax relief.
The alert came from Abu Dhabi-based IFA Hoxton Capital Management.
Chris Ball, managing partner of the firm says that with many expats in the UAE working in sectors that traditionally have offered generous pension schemes back in the UK – for example, energy, construction and aviation – they are more likely to be affected by the LTA limit.
People working for oil and gas companies could be the most at risk, he says.
Mr Ball said: “Just under a third of the people we speak to know what LTA is.
“Those who know what it is are typically aware of where they stand.
“However, we frequently speak to people in the oil and gas sector who have breached the LTA, some of whom have breached it by substantial margins.”
The Lifetime Allowance places a limit on the level of benefit that can be drawn from a pension scheme without incurring additional tax penalties.
This applies to money taken either as a lump sum or as ongoing income during retirement.
The current lifetime allowance is £1,055,000 though the figure could rise in line with inflation.
Mr Ball added: “If an expat finds that they are already in breach of LTA relief, our advice is for them to check if they are eligible for protection.
“If they haven’t paid in to their pension since 6 April 2016 they can apply to increase their LTA limit.
“Failing this, if they are within the European Union, transferring their pension to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) could have potential benefits.”
“If, however, an expat is not yet in breach but feels that they could become so, our advice is to stop paying in if they haven’t already done so, and again, if it is a viable option, to look at a QROPS to crystallise the benefits before they are in breach of the LTA.”
More than 21,000 plan holders representing £1.3bn in funds under management are set to be transferred to the Hargreaves Lansdown platform.
Baillie Gifford selected Hargreaves Lansdown following what it called “a robust and detailed process which focused on quality of service, cost, breadth of proposition and experience of managing account transitions”.
Hargreaves Lansdown offers a wide choice of investment products, Baillie Gifford said, including SIPPs, ISAs and investment accounts and all Baillie Gifford managed investment trusts are available on the platform.
Plan holders are being contacted with further details of the transfer and their options.
During the transition period existing ISA, Share Plan and Children’s Savings Plan investors will be able to add to their respective plans.
Baillie Gifford has agreed with Hargreaves Lansdown the current charging level across all plans will not change for a period of three years from the agreed transition date.
The Baillie Gifford scheme has closed to new investors.
James Budden, director of retail marketing & distribution, Baillie Gifford, said: “The increasing variety, capability and cost effectiveness of investment platforms in the wider savings market has led us to decide plan holders of our investment trust savings scheme are best served by a specialist platform.
“We selected Hargreaves Lansdown for a number of reasons, including its ability to offer efficient access to our entire investment trust range through a broad selection of savings products.”
Chris Hill, CEO, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “As one of the largest supporters of investment trusts we are pleased to welcome Baillie Gifford clients to Hargreaves Lansdown.”