Retirement

MORE than a third (36pc) of advisers who advise on or administer SIPP/SSAS pension funds believe they are not getting the best rate of return on their clients' cash held in these funds, according to research conducted for Investec Private Bank.

The introduction of personal accounts must not "paralyse" the savings industry, says Standard Life.

The retirement income market has changed dramatically in recent years, bringing new challenges for pensioners and their advisers.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced it considers withdrawals taken from unsecured pensions (USP) or alternatively secured pensions (ASP) as income for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes.

New life and pensions business rose 8.1% in Q3 2007 compared to the same period in 2006 to £3.648bn, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Skandia has published a guide to pensions for advisers to use with their clients.

PRUDENTIAL has added an Income Drawdown option to its Flexible Retirement Plan (FRP).

Almost half of SIPP providers offer a defined link to their fund platforms to help mutual fund trading, according to research by Defaqto.

Standard Life has become the top provider in the mass SIPP market, according to research by software company Mastek.

The Pensions Regulator has published an e-learning module to help trustees understand the winding-up process for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.