Latest Blogs
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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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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.
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Lisa Webster: To gift or not to gift?
Since the announcement that pensions are to be included in estates for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes the question of whether those with large pension pots should be giving some funds away has become increasingly common.
Popular News
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PMI and SPP call for improved Pension Schemes Bill
The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) and the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) have today issued a united call for improvements to the Pension Schemes Bill.
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SSAS and pension appointments at WBR Group
SSAS administration and integrated professional services provider WBR Group has made two key promotions to strengthen its technical and proposition capabilities, it said.
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Surge in IHT queries and 'lesser known' strategies
Financial Planners at wealth manager Rathbones have reported a surge in client queries about estate planning amid concerns of possible changes to the IHT regime in the forthcoming Budget.
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Pension savers rushing to take 25% tax-free cash
Pension savers rushed to withdraw their 25% tax-free cash in unprecedented volumes in the 2024/25 financial year, according to new FCA data.
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People want guaranteed income in retirement: survey
Two-fifths ( 39%) of pension savers say that a guaranteed income is their main priority in retirement.
Leicester-based wealth adviser Westerby Investment Management has recruited three new members of staff from Berkeley Burke in an expansion move.
ofAlmost one in ten (9%) of investors said that the source of information they have increased the most to help manage their investments is social media, with 7% now regarding it as their most important source of information.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) is creating three new investment company sectors as part of a sector reshuffle.
SIPP provider Curtis Banks has revealed the top technical queries its support team received in 2020.
The FCA has begun civil proceeding in the High Court against Paul Steel for providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice.
It has also secured in interim injunction which freezes the assets of both Mr Steel and his partner Ms Foster up to the value of £7m, pending a further hearing.
The regulator said Mr Steel’s firm, Estate Matters Financial (in liquidation), contravened the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice, leading consumers to exit defined benefit pension schemes when it was not in their best interests to do so.
The regulator added that Mr Steel, Estate Matters Financial’s director and co-owner, was knowingly concerned in the contravention.
The FCA alleges that Mr Steel breached FCA requirements by undertaking a course of conduct which resulted in the removal of the firm’s assets, leaving it unable to meet potential liabilities for unsuitable advice, while enabling him to retain the significant profits that accrued from the provision of the advice and from ongoing fees.
An injunction was also obtained against Ms Foster on the basis that she may be holding or controlling assets owned by her partner Mr Steel.
The FCA has also asked the Court to make a restitution order requiring Mr Steel to compensate consumers who have suffered losses as a result of receiving unsuitable pension transfer advice.
No trial date has been set.
Wealth Manager Charles Stanley, which has a substanial SIPP arm, has removed VAT from its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) across its Dynamic Passive, Blended and Multi-manager models.