Changes announced in today’s budget mean that four million pensioners will be worse off. The budget included controversial proposals to lower the income tax allowance for people over 65 to £9,205 from April. This will bring pensioners in line with the general population. The over 65s currently benefit from a more generous tax-free allowance of [...]
Supermarket retailer Tesco has increased its pension age by two years to 67 for the 170,000 employees who contribute to the company’s scheme. Tesco employees will still be able to retire from the age of 55 at a reduced pension rate, but they will only receive a full pension if they work until 67. The [...]
Talks over public sector pensions have now ended with the government producing a final set of proposals. While the Treasury said the talks were constructive, unions claim that ‘serious matters’ have been left unresolved, leading to the threat of further industrial action. The proposed changes to health, education and civil service pensions are designed to [...]
The value of final salary pension schemes has been slashed by £90 billion due to the government’s latest round of quantitative easing (QE), the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) warns, while pensioners’ incomes have also been hit by soaring living costs. A new study by LV= suggest that pensioners’ day-to-day living costs have increased [...]
Falling gilt yields have pushed final salary pension funds £90bn deeper into the red since the second wave of quantitative easing (QE) started last October, pension experts said today. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said the Bank of England’s printing of £125bn within the past six months had hit pension funds harder than [...]
Public confidence in pensions has fallen to an all-time low just months before the Government starts automatically putting every worker into one, new research showed today (Weds). A survey for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) found 54% of all employees are not confident in pensions compared to other ways of saving. 37% said [...]
A new code of conduct is being launched by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) which should ensure that the sale of annuities is fairer and more transparent. The new code is designed to make it easier for people to make decisions about their retirement income, including being more confident in using the so-called ‘open [...]
The Pensions Regulator is highlighting the risks associated with so-called ‘pension liberation’ schemes, which often leave investors substantially out of pocket. Pension holders should resist the temptation to release money from their pension fund before the age of 55 the regulator warns, as Pension Liberation schemes are often scams offered by unauthorised firms. These firms [...]
The Future Foundation think tank suggests that everyday technology such as a TV remote control or an ATM could be used by savers to top up their pension pots. In its ‘Pensions – The Solutions’ report, produced for insurance provider Friends Life, the Future Foundation says that technology could make it much easier for people [...]
Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, has told The Telegraph that he wants to cut tax relief on pensions to 20 per cent across the board, eliminating the higher rate of tax relief currently enjoyed by high earners. The reform would help to pay for an increase in the tax allowance to £10,000. Under [...]
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Consumer goods manufacturer Unilever has been given the backing of its trustee board for proposed changes to its pension scheme. The company’s employees are currently involved in strikes against the proposal to close its final salary pension scheme. In a statement the trustees said: “Whilst the trustee board does not welcome the company’s decision to [...]
People who retire this year will be £3,000 worse off than those who retired four years ago because factors such as the credit crunch, the recession and the eurozone crisis have pushed down annuity rates to a record low. Annuity rates fell by eight per cent in 2011, which was the fourth consecutive year of [...]
An independent pensions consultant claims that the government’s proposed reforms to public sector pensions will result in no cost savings whatsoever. John Ralfe says that the savings which will be made by increasing the public sector pension age to 67 will be cancelled out by the faster build up of pensions in the new schemes. [...]
The private pension sector has suffered a ‘seismic collapse’ according to a survey by the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). The ACA revealed today that nine out of 10 private sector defined benefit schemes, which promise a pre-determined monthly benefit on retirement, have been closed to new entrants and four out of 10 are closed [...]
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of private-sector final-salary pension schemes were closed in 2011, according to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF). In comparison, just 3 per cent of final-salary pension schemes closed in 2008, while the proportion increased to 17 per cent in 2010. It is estimated that the closure of this [...]
Employees who have been with a company for less than two years will no longer be eligible for a refund of the money they have paid into a defined-contribution pension scheme, under proposed reforms. The change, which is designed to stop employees leaving a firm without a pension, has been welcomed by the National Association [...]
Private sector final-salary pension deficits have increased collectively by £63.5 billion, from £158.6 billion at the end of October to £222.1 billion at the end of November. The figures, published by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), reflect the increasing cost of paying for pensions which outstripped a 0.7 per cent month-on-month increase in the value [...]
Putting off selecting an annuity can reduce the return on pensions savings according to Chatfield Private Client, a firm of Independent Financial Advisors. The firm is calling for people to take annuities into account at an early stage of the process of taking out a pension. Director at the firm Jason Ashman said: “What we [...]
The government has announced changes to its pensions offer for NHS staff, which it claims are an improvement designed to protect low-paid employees, but which unions claim is a tax on middle-earners. Last week up to two million public sector workers went on strike over the government’s plan to increase the amount they will have [...]
Unions vote to accept public sector pension changes
Unions have agreed to proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), ending a long-running dispute with the government over the reforms. Members of Unison and Unite, two of the UK’s largest unions, voted in support of the reforms, with 84 per cent of Unite members voting to accept the changes and 90 per [...]
RBS could receive higher fine than Barclays for rate-rigging
The Royal Bank of Scotland could be more heavily involved in inter-bank rate fixing than Barclays, an MP has suggested. John Mann, a Labour MP on the Treasury select committee, speculated that RBS could receive a fine in excess of the £290 million incurred by Barclays, if the allegations prove true. A source from within [...]
Rich have benefited most from quantitative easing
The Bank of England has admitted in a new report that the richest 5 per cent of UK households have benefitted the most from its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The Bank launched the programme in March 2009, in an effort to revive economic growth. In total it has bought £375bn of government bonds, known as [...]
ABI calls for transparency over pension charges
A ‘protocol’ should be given to members of company and private pension schemes, giving clear information on charges, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says. The ABI’s call for pension charges to be made clearer comes prior to the introduction of automatic enrolment in autumn, when employers will be required to enrol workers in a [...]
Report tackles shortage of rented homes
With soaring demand for accommodation pushing rents to an all-time high, a new report suggests that rules on affordable homes should be relaxed to encourage the building of homes for rent. The average rent paid by private tenants in England and Wales reached £725 a month in July according to property group LSL. The government [...]
Police seize millionth uninsured vehicle
Police have seized the millionth uninsured vehicle, indicating the size of the problem of uninsured driving in the UK. The vehicle was seized in Birmingham, which is one of UK’s motor insurance evasion hotspots. According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Bordesley in Birmingham has now replaced the Barkerend area of Bradford as the place [...]
Mortgage fraud increases by 23 per cent
Information services company Experian has reported a 23 per cent increase in the number of people giving false information in order to obtain a mortgage. In the second quarter of this year, 39 out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent, compared with 32 in the 2011 second quarter. Lenders have tightened [...]
Government to crack down on hidden credit card charges
Tougher rules are to be brought in to protect consumers from hidden credit card charges and premium-rate phone calls to customer service departments. The Government has launched a consultation on how to implement the changes, which are required under a European Consumer Rights Directive and will apply to countries across the European Union. The new [...]
Which? report claims free banking is a myth
A new report by consumer group Which? highlights the high charges that can be applied to ‘free’ current accounts. While these accounts are free while in credit, charges can be applied if a customer goes overdrawn, especially if they do so without permission. Customers can also be charged for overseas transactions and for agreed overdrafts. [...]
Households more optimistic about their finances
Household finances are still deteriorating, but at a slower rate, according to the Markit household finance index. The index increased from 37.5 in July to 38.9 in August, with figures above 50 representing a positive change in household finances, and figures below 50 representing a negative change. The August figure represents the third consecutive monthly [...]
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