pensions

IFAs could tap into a £11bn market if they would advice their drawdown clients in older style contracts to transfer to a new provider, says Scottish Equitable.

In the last week, the financial advice sector has seen several key proposals for regulatory reform which will substantially alter their business over the next 18 months.

Many people saving for their retirement will not be any better off, warns the Pensions Policy Institute, as the money they have managed to tuck away will simply replace state benefits that would otherwise have been payable.

The government's Pensions Bill will NOT solve the current savings gap unless the final draft includes radical changes to Britain's entire pensions framework, warns the National Consumer Council.

Size of the lump sum gained when deferring state pensions will NOT be as big as initially proposed in the Pensions Bill published two weeks ago, reveals the latest announcement from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Consumer confidence in the UK financial services industry may not be moving as quickly as anticipated, according to new business figures from the Association of British Insurers.

Deferred state pensions which are later taken as a lump sum will NOT count against most pensioners when calculating their entitlements to other benefits, suggest industry experts looking at last Thursday's Pensions Bill proposals.

THE CONSERVATIVES yesterday pointed a finger at the government's current spending spree and said it would campaign to freeze most Whitehall budgets, except health, education and pensions.

Independent Financial Advisers stand to gain if more employers with small- to medium-sized defined benefits (DB) pension schemes move towards a "bundled" approach, says Scottish Life.

Pensions provider and administrator James Hay has relaunched its online SIPP management service, which will allow advisers and clients to view and manage more than 32,000 SIPPs online.