Pension freedom

Why pensions will (and must) never be like bank accounts

Advisers' contribution to funding government retirement guidance service Pension Wise should be reduced because they are not benefitting from its existence as much as anticipated, according to the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA)....

The advantages of defined benefit (DB) pensions appear lost on some final salary savers who are frustrated by a government rule mandating they seek regulated advice before transferring out, research suggests.

Only 1% of savers have opted to cash in their pensions completely since the retirement 'freedom and choice' reforms took effect last month, according to the country's biggest retirement adviser.

A new association for directly authorised advisers said it hopes to bridge the advice gap by introducing a type of service for which commission-like payment will be possible.

... clients will call you about this week

A "combination of politics and pensions" contributed to slower sales across platforms in the first three months of the year, with the year-on-year (YOY) asset growth rate also receding, according to research.

The opening up of the retirement income market will drive the emergence of more adviser-provider partnerships, according to Foster Denovo.

Standard Life has become the latest provider to face adviser criticism as some life companies seemingly struggle to deal with pensions changes they claimed they were prepared for.

New pensions minister Ros Altmann has outlined her primary objectives in the role, including safeguarding the retirement ‘freedoms' that were introduced last month.