Retirement

The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the replacement for David Laverick, the Pensions Ombudsman.

Aegon has teamed up with UBS Global Asset Management to offer a joint proposition which will extend its presence in the bulk annuity market.

Suffolk Life has reported its highest new business levels ever for Q1 2007.

The final module in the Pension Regulator's ‘ Trustee Toolkit' has been published, allowing trustees who finish the online course to receive a Certificate of Completion.

Skandia has warned advisers to be cautious when using block transfers to consolidate pension funds, as it could lead to their client losing the right to higher levels of tax free cash.

Although Budget changes mean any residual funds from ASP will be taxed at around 82%, Mike Morrison, pension strategy director at Winterthur, says the key is to make sure there is no money left in the pot to trigger the tax charge.

The Association of British Insurers has attacked the way the government is tackling personal accounts, warning it could end up with a "compromised system" and "a full-scale assault on existing good pension provision".

Almost 90% of IFAs believe there needs to be product innovation in the retirement planning market to take into account increasing longevity, claims Lincoln Financial.

It has irritated me for many months that people decide they will smoke outside my office in the covered area to hide from the rain. I do hope this will stop from the 1st July when the new law comes in.

The Public Administration Select Committee has further boosted the campaign to compensate 125,000 workers who lost their pensions when their schemes wound up, by stating recent government concessions "have not gone far enough".