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We have scotch’d the snake not killed it – three years to sort out hidden...
We have scotch’d the snake, not kill’d it: She’ll close and be herself, whilst our poor malice Remains in danger of her former tooth. Macbeth Act 3 Scene 2 Of all the vested interest groups, the...
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Princess Margaret does it for me
We are a princess Thursday night’s when the Pension Personality awards get judged. That no-one can remember who the current Pension Personality is , suggests that this is about as useful a gong as...
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“Ring out the old – ring in the new”- who will be our investment fiduciaries...
Yesterday I went to the Schroders DC Challenge conference which was all about “delivering value and certainty” to retirement savers. I left enlightened by some interesting debates and one or two...
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Business relies on transparency – it’s time platform managers come clean
General principles Buying low and selling higher is the basis of all commerce. Intelligent purchasers seek to cut out intermediaries to buy direct. Smart intermediaries use their financial muscle to...
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What are your CDC property rights?
Some pension promises are easy to value If I promise to pay you a monthly amount over the next five years, it is fairly easy to work out the value of that promise. At it’s simplest level the value is...
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Meaninglessly big data.
I don’t like this infographic, it just appeared on my twitter feed to attract me to an article that would lead me to the conclusion that I was helpless and needed the assistance of some organisation to...
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Magic beans and “negative capability”
John Ralfe considers himself a realist. In a conversation yesterday about my blog on the application of CDC to Britain’s current pension problems he tweeted that the solution to our DC problem is...
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Probably the worst flagship tax ever?
George Osborne says his proposed tax break for high value homes is about “values”, it is no such thing. This policy is about votes. What is going on with the conservatives on tax? They have become...
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Care or hubris? – How Tesco got in such a pensions mess.
Every little helps? The right old mess that Tesco has found itself in , is blamed partially on its mishandling of its pension strategy. How can an organisation with the motto “every little counts”...
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Common sense needed on transfers
Whether you’re moving house or moving money, the process is fraught. We are no closer to pots following member than when the “portable personal pension” was established in 1987. The friction involved...
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“A decision to take a transfer cannot be reversed and should not be rushed”
This blog is mainly written for deferred members of the British Steel Pension Scheme, but many other people may find it interesting. There’s no doubt that what is going on in Tata-land, will go on with...
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“Probing” IFAs is not enough; we need simpler more transparent transfers.
Allegations of “mis-selling” against IFAs are premature and unsubstantiated. My eye was caught last night by a linked in post by Andrew Warwick-Thompson, formerly of the Pensions Regulator. Here we...
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“Would you pay a social care premium?”
This was the question Radio Five Live’s Wake up to Money asked its audience this Monday morning. 2.5% off wages for the prospect of insurance against things going really wrong with your health in...
View ArticleWhy planning for “care” is everyone’s business
Whether we are carers or ‘cared for’, we are likely to be involved in caring in the future. Of course the pandemic has highlighted the under-funding of residential care homes and the lack of support...
View ArticleThe impact of banning contingent charging for pension transfers
The end of an era After over three years of mounting pressure, the FCA yesterday announced it would be banning the practice of contingent charging for work on Defined Benefit transfers from October...
View Article20 questions we need to answer to make CDC mass-market
This is the first in a series of blogs which will address some of the questions being asked about CDC schemes. The 20 questions in this blog have been collated and addressed by Con Keating in the...
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