Retirement

The government has admitted while it is confident the cost of personal accounts can be lowered as far as 0.3% over the long term, the true cost for employees "cannot be estimated with certainty".

Personal accounts will be classed as an occupational pension scheme and will be approached as a hybrid model, the DWP's White Paper says.

The government says introducing further pensions reforms in the form of personal accounts with an element of compulsion will result in an additional net £4-5bn in annual savings, equivalent to 0.5% of GDP.

The Department for Work and Pensions has published a simplification plan, as part of the government's ‘Better Regulation' agenda, but has failed to include any further details of its rolling deregulatory review of pensions.

The changes to alternatively secured pensions announced in the Pre-Budget Report "smacks of legalised theft", according to AJ Bell Group.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Association of IFAs (AIFA) have jointly launched a new guide setting out the responsibilities of providers and advisers in offering life and pension products and services.

I am beginning to dread the use of the words 'simplify' and 'simplification' by the government. Often, it leaves me feeling more confused than ever.

The Treasury has today announced it will allow people to continue to opt for an alternatively secured pensions instead of an annuity at retirement, but rule changes now mean the fund cannot be transferred on death.

The pension credit minimum guarantee will rise by £5 a week for a single person and £7.65 a week for a couple, Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced.

Up to 125,000 people who lost their savings when their occupational pension schemes were wound up should have sought indpendent financial advice, lawyers acting for the government will say.