ABI

HM Revenue & Customs has provided written confirmation that gifts put into absolute or bare trusts for minors will avoid tax charges by being classified as Potentially Exempt Transfers rather than Chargeable Lifetime Transfers.

A ‘light touch' regulatory system should be introduced for the existing pensions market to allow current schemes to operate on a level playing field with personal accounts, claims the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Concerns have been raised about the future of pension term assurance, following comments from Ed Balls stating the government "will act" when a regime is not in accordance with its pensions tax relief principles.

Lord Turner was either naïve or misleading when he suggested a charge of around 0.3% was possible on personal accounts as they cannot be delivered at a cost of less than 1% annual management charge, claims Standard Life.

A move to factory-gate pricing could answer the Financial Services Authority's concerns about the transparency and sustainability of financial advice, suggests the ABI.

Legal & General is relaunching its critical illness product by extending cover to three additional illnesses and incorporating the Association of British Insurers' best practice definitions.

Although A-day seems to have encouraged more people to take advantage of the Open Market Option for annuities, more still needs to be done warns Just Retirement.

The Association of British Insurers is setting up a new claims committee which aims to tackle the problem of declined claims in the protection industry and boost consumer confidence.

Larger businesses are failing to cope efficiently with consumer complaints because they are allocating resources to "the race for size" instead, suggests chief ombudsman Walter Merricks.

Only 14% of customers believe complaints they have made to life and pensions providers have been handled in a 'very good' or 'excellent' way, according to a survey by the Association of British Insurers.