Investment

People opting for enhanced protection post A-day could face a £3,000 fine if they fail to tell the Inland Revenue they have swapped to primary protection, warns industry expert Steve Bee.

The Inland Revenue has left the proposal on Alternative Secured Income (ASI) more or less unchanged despite the fact it is opening up a tax-avoidance loophole, suggests a pension expert after her initial reading of the Finance Bill.

Lifetime and annual allowances will change in the first five years according to the following tables published in the Bill today.

Directors could soon be able to contribute up to £215,000 a year each to their own or their employees' pension schemes without paying any additional tax regardless of salary, says Steve Bee.

US president Franklin Roosevelt's words ending the era of prohibition have come back to haunt the pensions industry with Halifax' suggestion people give up their daily pint and packet of crisps in favour of £3 a day towards their pension pot

The FSA has published a consumer guide explaining what to do before retiring and how to get the best income possible from private, occupational and State arrangements.

Equitable Life's board of directors is now in discussions with legal representatives to establish whether it has a case for compensation in the European courts against the UK regulatory regime.

A pensioner selected at random is less likely to be in relative poverty compared with a person under pensionable age, the Institute of Fiscal Studies has revealed.

Scottish Life has revamped its Retirement Solutions IFA support materials to try and help clients better understand the need for pension planning.

Pensioners still risk breaking pensions legislation if they decide to invest their pension pots into residential property, once simplification rules come into force in April 2006, warns a pension expert.