Retirement

Pensioners will be able to top up their state pension by up to £25 a week from next year under government plans published today.

Aegon's decision to introduce price caps on the Retirement Choices wrap and the One Retirement SIPP is "potentially game changing", according to platform consultancy the lang cat.

Pricing caps on assets under management in the advised platform market will be industry standard within the next ten years, according to Aegon investment director Nick Dixon.

Treasury select committee chairman Andrew Tyrie has criticised the regulator's review of the annuities market, saying it was headline grabbing and had "taken us very little further forward" in terms of giving insight into the problems of the market.

Aegon is to simplify the charging structures for the One Retirement SIPP and the Aegon Retirement Choices (ARC) wrap, benefiting clients with larger asset pots.

Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam received £8.7m in pay and perks last year, amid accusations that the life and pensions sector fails to treat customers fairly.

In this week's quick-fire poll we ask: Do you think unrestricted pension access will be beneficial or detrimental to your clients?

Have you missed this week's pensions news? Here's Retirement Planner's round-up of the top five stories this week.

More than half of advisers - 55% - believe there will be fewer than 65 self-invested personal pension (SIPP) providers operating in two years' time and 41% think the total could fall to lower than 50, according to Dentons Pension Management.

Chancellor George Osborne has written to the chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) criticising the regulator for its "damaging" behaviour in releasing details of its investigation into insurance policies before a formal announcement.