Latest Blogs
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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: 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.
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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.
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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.
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Lisa Webster: Overcomplicated rules are a threat
It may be more than a year since the Lifetime Allowance was formally abolished but issues are still emerging from the mess made by rushed legislation.
Popular News
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Tilley: Pensions mandating plans cross dangerous line
I struggle to believe that we are genuinely considering mandating investment in UK assets for larger auto-enrolment pension schemes.
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Lisa Webster: A matter of life and death benefits
Complicated family situations have the potential to create challenging scenarios for pension trustees when it comes to exercising their discretion on the death of the member.
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Sussex Planner fails after 24 pension and investment claims
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has declared failed Sussex-based wealth manager and Financial Planner Facet Investment Management Ltd (FRN 131372) in default.
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DWP launches review to consider State Pension Age
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed that the third statutory Government review into when and how to raise the State Pension age will begin straightaway.
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SPP welcomes Pensions Commission
The Society of Pension Professionals said the revival of the government’s landmark Pension Commission is good news as it will consider a wide range of potential solutions rather than focusing solely on automatic enrolment.
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IHT receipts climb 6% to £2.2bn
Inheritance tax receipts for April to June were £2.2bn, over £100m higher than the same period last year, according to new HMRC figures published today.
The Government has issued a new Financial Bill which includes the legal mechanism for the abolition of the pensions Lifetime Allowance (LTA).
Proposals from the FCA would require investment advisers to set aside a minimum of 28% of potential liabilities in advance to compensate investors if bad advice is given.
The difference between the best and worst annuity in the open market could pay an extra £13,240 in income or £662 a year over a typical 20-year period, according to Canada Life.
The transfer value a typical DB pension could attract fell below £150,000 in October for the first time since last year’s mini budget, according to pensions and SIPP firm XPS Group.
Pensions and SIPP firm XPS Group has reported a 23% growth in revenues to £94.5m for the latest half year.
After years of sharp growth in participation during the roll-out of auto enrolment, workplace pension growth has stalled, according to new data from the Department for Work and Pensions.