Popular News
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Industry urged to probe pensioner spending habits
Pension providers have been urged to find out more about post-retirement spending as new research suggests homeowners’ and renters’ drawdown habits are very different.
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Single pensioners need £225K more for ‘moderate’ retirement
Single pensioners need £225,000 more in their pension pot than couples to achieve a ‘moderate’ standard of living in retirement.
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DC savers warned of 20% hit from Trump’s tariffs
Donald Trump’s tariffs could hit UK pensions, with DC savers warned they may experience a 20% cut in their retirement income.
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Number of appointed reps continues to fall
The number of appointed representatives continued to fall in 2024/25, according to the latest data from the Financial Conduct Authority.
Latest Blog
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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: Over-taxation of pensions remains an issue
HMRC’s January pension schemes newsletter announced changes to tax codes for pensions, and a few headlines followed proclaiming HMRC had finally fixed the over-taxation issue. It would be fantastic if that was the case, but despite nearly 10 years of getting it wrong, the problem isn’t resolved yet.
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Lisa Webster: Divorce impact on lump sums raises question
The lifetime allowance may have been consigned to the annals of history but the various forms of protection are still relevant in the new world, especially when it comes to the amount of pension commencement lump sum (PCLS) that can be taken.
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Martin Tilley: How education can tackle pension scams
The dark reality of pension scams is that we don’t really know how common they are. Fraud is a crime which tends to have low reporting events and with pension scams, it’s no different. The emotional toll can be as large as the financial, with some people being too embarrassed to report that they have been the victim of a scam.
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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.
The FCA has stressed that there will be no changes to its rules and regulations despite the UK exiting the EU tonight at 11 pm (31 January).
Following Brexit the UK will enter an implementation period which is due to last until 31 December.
The watchdog said that during this implementation period EU law will continue to apply and firms and funds will continue to benefit from passporting between the UK and EEA countries.
Consumer rights and protections under EU law will also remain in place.
In guidance to regulated firms the FCA said: “There will therefore be no changes to the reporting obligations for firms, including those for MiFIR transaction reporting, under EMIR, and for CRAs, which will continue in line with existing EU regulatory requirements.”
The windows for EEA firms to notify the FCA that they want to use the Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR), or for fund managers to notify the regulator of any funds they want to continue to market in the UK under the Temporary Marketing Permissions Regime (TMPR), closed yesterday (30 January).
Andrew Bailey, FCA chief executive, said: “The work the FCA has undertaken, along with government and the Bank of England, ensured the financial services sector was one of the best prepared industries for any of the possible Brexit outcomes.
“The implementation period gives firms a period of certainty while negotiations are continuing on our future relationship with the EU.”
He said the FCA would use the implementation period to work with government, the Bank of England, firms and other regulators to ensure the financial services industry is ready for the end of 2020.
The FCA has, however, urged firms to prepare now for actions to ensure that post 1 January 2021 they minimise risks to customers.
The FCA provides regular updates on its Brexit webpages, and firms can also call the FCA Brexit information line (0800 048 4255).
The parent company of Transact, the SIPP and platform provider, has been hit with an unexpected £4.3m VAT bill which could also see the company having to pay an additional £1.4m a year in VAT.
Pensions drawdown investors have seen positive growth in four out of the five years since the Pension Freedoms arrived in 2015, according to a new study.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s pension scheme has apologised after being hit with a £2,000 fine from The Pensions Regulator over governance shortcomings.
The Money and Pensions Service, the government-backed consumer financial guidance body, has appointed acting CEO Caroline Siarkiewicz as its permanent chief executive.
The government-backed pension advisory Pension Wise says its users are more likely to use a financial adviser after taking guidance from the service.