Comment and Blogs
In the run-up to pension freedoms people seemed to be speaking about pensions in a different way. There was new excitement over the removal of the need to buy an annuity (even though this had been the case for some time already).
Read more: Morrison: Pension pots - a current consumption choice
Recently there was a consumer programme on Radio 4 at lunchtime which reignited in my mind the need for a permitted investment list for SIPPs.
Read more: Mike Morrison: A reminder of need for Permitted Investments
Crypto currency may sound like something from a science fiction movie or Series 11 of Doctor Who, which will see Jodie Whittaker become the first female Doctor, but the reality is investors are piling a lot of money into these vehicles.
Read more: Elaine Turtle: Why crypto currency could be toxic
Regular readers may recall my Blog from last October, entitled “Cart before horse nonsense has to stop”, in which I berated the time it was taking to get legislation through Parliament, ratifying pension-related changes that had, in effect, already come into force (for example, applying for Fixed Protection 2016).
Read more: James Jones-Tinsley: Why we should look back in anger at MPAA
When SIPPs were created in Chancellor Lawson’s Budget speech back in 1989, the world was a different place. We were pre-financial crisis, pre-simplification, pre-freedom and choice and less engaged with saving for the long term, in part due to the pensions industry having been dominated by DB schemes.
Read more: Elaine Turtle: Capital adequacy – the unintended consequences
In August, HM Treasury and the Department for Work & Pensions finally released their response to the ‘Pension Scams’ consultation.
Read more: James Jones-Tinsley: SSAS de-registrations - a dormant diaspora?