Income

Sign of quality: Why retirement planning needs a kite mark

The majority of people approaching retirement want to get their ‘guaranteed guidance' from financial advisers or established consumer organisations not pension providers, research shows.

Annuity provider Partnership is to cut 100 roles as part of a multi-million pound cost saving drive sparked by the Budget changes.

Firms providing comparison websites for annuities should include details of the types of guarantees available and identify providers if they operate a restricted panel, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) updated its guidance for firms.

Regulation should be changed to allow a ‘national wealth service' to be established to distribute independent retirement advice more widely, according to Ros Altmann.

Financial guidance on offer to all retirees from next April as part of the Budget's pension changes could be delivered in groups, Steve Webb has said.

The Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) has called on the Money Advice Service (MAS) and The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) to deliver the government's at-retirement guidance guarantee.

The number of savers putting enough money into their pension to secure an adequate retirement is at its highest level since 2009 at 53%, according to Scottish Widows research.

The government must make an "urgent decision" on the specifics of the guidance guarantee to ensure the April 2015 deadline is met, Friends Life has said.

Providers should be forced to deliver the guidance guarantee if they are to do the right thing by their customers, says Fidelity's head of retirement insight Alan Higham.