PPI

Changes announced in the Budget mean the State Second Pension may not become flat-rate until 2035, four years later than planned, claims the Pensions Management Institute.

The potential risk of mis-selling personal accounts, particularly to women over the age of 45, has been dismissed by the government.

The Department for Work and Pensions has started advertising for the chief executive of the personal accounts delivery authority, with the expectation someone will be in place by the summer.

It is encouraging that the Competition Commission (CC) has not yet identified any competition concerns in respect of its investigation into the payment protection insurance (PPI) market. It said so in a statement recently, which also laid out the issues...

The Financial Services Authority has reached an agreement with the payment protection insurance industry which aims to stop firms including nil refund terms in contracts with customers.

Government policy on personal accounts may have to be "revisited" if the Thoresen review into generic advice fails to identify a short, simple and easy to understand way of providing information on whether to opt-in or out of personal accounts, warns...

Xafinity Paymaster believes it is possible to administer personal accounts at a cost of around £10 per saver, despite many in the pensions industry claiming such low charges are impossible.

An annual management charge of 0.5% on personal accounts could produce borrowing costs of up to £4.5bn and could take almost 30 years to repay, warns the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).

Shortcomings in the payment protection insurance market may limit the extent to which lighter-touch regulation can be incorporated into the insurance conduct of business regime, suggests the Financial Services Authority.

Personal accounts will go ahead with means-testing in place as there is no viable alternative, claims the government.