Latest Blogs
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Tilley: Will IHT reforms really threaten pension saving?
The Government’s decision to bring most unused pension funds and lump sum death benefits within the scope of inheritance tax (IHT) from 6 April 2027 has provoked widespread criticism from across the pensions industry. Providers, advisers and trade bodies have warned that the change risks undermining confidence in pension saving and damaging long term retirement provision.
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Lisa Webster: Salary sacrifice cap will hit some hard
The headline story from Budget 2025 - in the pension world at least - was the plan to cap National Insurance relief for pension contributions paid through salary sacrifice at £2,000 a year.
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Tilley: Rebooting the FOS makes sense
I’ve written before about the lack of coherence in the UK’s pension complaints landscape and it remains a source of real frustration for those of us working in the sector.
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Lisa Webster: Pension age uncertainty lingers on
We’ve known for many years that normal minimum pension age, NMPA it's known, is going up.
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Lisa Webster: Beware IHT and pensions double taxation
One of the most disliked aspects of bringing pensions into the estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes from 6 April 2027 is the double taxation that will occur when the member dies on or after their 75th birthday.
Popular News
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FCA survey reveals 15% fall in adviser firms
The number of adviser firms has fallen by 15% since 2021 although the number of advisers overall has remained steady at 31,000.
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3 in 10 business owners have no pension
Three in 10 business owners do not have a pension independent of their business, according to new research.
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Massive ‘concentration of power’ in DC pension market
There’s a massive concentration of power in occupational pensions with less than 50 people controlling more than half the money, according to former Pensions Minister Steve Webb.
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Surge in DC lump sum withdrawals around Budget
There were surges in lump sum withdrawals from private sector DC pensions in Autumn 2024 and 2025 as savers acted in anticipation of rumoured Budget changes.
The FCA has abandoned plans to ban platform exit fees.
In a regulatory update today the watchdog said the move was no longer necessary as a number of platforms had dropped exit fees after the regulator highlighted the issue.
The FCA criticised exit fees as a barrier to investors moving platforms.
The FCA’s Investment Platforms Market study (2018/19) found that while the platform market “works well overall, there were areas where it could work better.”
One of the areas highlighted was the barrier to moving platforms created by exit fees levied by a number of platforms.
The FCA said in Policy Statement 19/29 it would consult on restricting platform exit fees in Q1 2020.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the FCA then delayed the move to Spring 2021.
It now says: “We have now decided to stop work on this consultation.
“Since expressing our concerns in the 2018 Interim Report, there has been a marked shift in the market away from exit fees, with at least two major platforms announcing that they would no longer be charging exit fees.
“The FCA welcomes the direction of travel by the investment platforms sector in phasing out the use of exit fees.”
The regulator added that while it has dropped the Exit Fees Consultation it will be closely monitoring the situation and has hinted it will shake up the sector if new barriers to moving platform or any other consumer detriment emerges.
The move to drop an exit fee ban has been criticised by some.
Richard Wilson, chief executive of interactive investor, said: “We are saddened to see this news snuck out on the afternoon of Friday 13th. Exit fees are a recipe for rip offs and a genuine barrier to consumers seeking better value for money - they should have been banned.
“The FCA rightly points out that the direction of travel in the industry has been away from exit fees, in large part because interactive investor and Hargreaves Lansdown have done away with them. But there are still platforms out there that have grown far too complacent, relying on customer inertia and hefty penalties."
“There is no reason to turn off the heat - quite the opposite. Scrutiny on exit fees needs to be extended to life companies, asset and wealth managers, life insurers and beyond. We are completely bewildered by the FCA’s announcement and today is a sad day for consumers.”
FSCS chief executive Caroline Rainbird has revealed that the major factors pushing up the FSCS levy have been the surge in claims against Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) operators and a rising trend of pensions-related claims.
The Financial Conduct Authority expects a significant number of smaller regulated firms to fail over the next few months.
The FCA has launched High Court proceedings against a company and two individuals over alleged links to care home investments which saw investors lose more than £30m in a UCIS.
Younger clients are demanding technological improvements from SIPP providers according to new research.
The Financial Ombudsman Service has reported a sharp rise in SIPP complaints with 821 new complaints about SIPPs between July and September compared to 636 in the previous quarter.