The financial services industry has failed to find ways of nudging consumers to think about their options at retirement, despite three years of pension freedoms. A panel at the Association of British Insurers retirement conference today lamented the way companies talk to people about pensions and the lack of engagement it inspires. ABI director general […]
Pensions minister Guy Opperman is hoping the single financial guidance body will be established by winter. Opperman updated delegates at the ABI retirement conference today on how the guidance body is progressing. Currently the government is looking for a chair and chief executive who, once hired, will start looking at how the single guidance body combining […]
Advisers are being targeted by claims management companies offering payment for referring complaints related to defined benefit pension transfers. Capital Asset Management chief executive Alan Smith was sent a letter this month from Birkenhead-based firm Pension Justice, which claims to be a “missold pension compensation specialist”. The letter asks advisers if they have seen clients […]
The government has given reassurances a ban on cold calling will be in place by June. Yesterday, economic secretary to the treasury John Glen repeated the government’s intention to introduce a cold-call ban as soon as possible. During the third reading of the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, Glen said Clause 9, introduced by the […]
The majority of providers are failing to ask customers how they will choose to access their pensions, according to FCA data. The FCA yesterday published data on its website about pension decumulation coming out of its 2017 Financial Lives Survey. The data, which looks at all adults planning to access their defined contribution pensions in […]
Michael Klimes examines if advisers can resolve all drawdown issues themselves or if a wider effort is needed
Intrinsic must compensate a client for the pension transfer advice it gave them. According to a Financial Ombudsman Service decision, in 2015 Mrs C was told to transfer her two existing personal pensions valued around £80,000 to a new Sipp provider. This money was placed in a scheme where Mrs C could adopt a dynamic […]
The Liberal Democrats have branded the government’s decision to delay a pot follows member pension system “incompetent”. The Liberal Democrat spokesman for work and pensions Stephen Lloyd MP says the move by pensions minister Guy Opperman shows how “rudderless” the current government is on pensions policy. Last October Opperman suggested the pot follows member initiative […]
The Financial Ombudsman Service has told Kingswood Financial Advisors to compensate a client over a Sipp investment in an unregulated Harlequin property fund. The case concerns Mr B’s complaints about the advice he received regarding two unregulated investments: one into a Harlequin property fund and the other into Green Oil. The ombudsman’s ruling relates to […]
Embattled Sipp provider Berkeley Burke has been criticised over investments made into esoteric schemes such as burial plots. The provider is currently facing allegations it missold hundreds of Sipp investments. In February the High Court approved a group litigation order relating to claims against Berkeley Burke. The provider is also locked in a battle with […]
The pensions dashboard could face requests from 15 million consumers when it goes live and must be built accordingly, according to technology provider Origo. The firm has come to this figure through its own research and discussions it has had with providers and banks who operate consumer-facing platforms. The infrastructure underpinning the pensions dashboard must […]
A flat tax relief rate of 30 per cent should be introduced to help the self-employed and low to middle earners to save more for retirement, according to the Royal Society of Arts. In a report published today, the RSA proposes rebalancing pensions tax relief away from higher earners to lower ones. While its findings […]