UK Waspi pension campaign: Minister says women born in the 1950s who are affected by transitional state pension arrangements should use “other benefits” like jobseekers allowance February 1, 2016 An MP has said today that women who are losing out from changes to the state pension age can rely on other benefits, such as jobseeker's allowance. The comment was made during a debate in Parliament over whether women born in the 1950s were properly notified by the government that the age at which they could retire would [...]
UK Pensions: FTSE 100 companies slice over £20bn off defined benefit (DB) pensions deficit but overall funding level in private sector remains bleak February 1, 2016 The total deficit for defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes for FTSE 100 companies has been slashed by £21bn over the course of a year. According to figures released today by JLT Employee Benefits, the total deficit across FTSE 100 companies stood at £77bn at 31 January 2016, down from £98bn at the same time the year [...]
UK pensions: Parliament to debate transitional state pension arrangements for women born in the 1950s tomorrow after online Waspi petition receives more than 100,000 signatures January 31, 2016 MPs will tomorrow debate the fairness of state pension arrangements for women born in the 1950s, after an online petition received more than 100,000 signatures. The petition, entitled "Make fair transitional state pension arrangements for 1950’s women", was started on behalf of the campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) and points out that some women [...]
Londoners least likely to own an ISA, but the savings product proves more popular in the south west January 31, 2016 Londoners have a bit of a reputation for trying to have it all, but, when it comes to savings and investments, it appears there's one thing they're routinely passing on. According to research released this weekend by wealth management service MoneyFarm, just 39 per cent of capital dwellers have an ISA, despite gross disposable household income [...]
Crowdfunding site Property Moose has just lowered its minimum investment to £10 January 29, 2016 Crowdfunding site Property Moose has lowered its minimum individual investment to just £10. The site, which offers investors a chance to contribute to a fundraising pool to buy a residential property, is hoping to reach out to new types of investors, including students kick-starting their saving or parents looking to start building a nest egg for their children. A £10 investment obviously [...]
New UK crowdfunding platform Growthdeck launches today hoping to improve investment standards in the sector January 28, 2016 A new equity-crowdfunding platform is launching in the UK today, Growthdeck, which says it wants to improve the standard of investing in the burgeoning sector. The company says it wants to "marry up the speed and low cost of crowdfunding platforms with the investment rigour that institutional investors would get and that private investors deserve.” The platform [...]
UK Pensions: Half of self-employed people lack confidence in pensions, while many have received no form of advice on how to stash their cash for retirement January 28, 2016 Those who call themselves boss are snubbing private pensions because they neither trust nor understand them. According to a report released today by Citizens Advice, half of self-employed people are not confident a private pension is a safe place to store their money for their golden years, with just 17 per cent opting to pay [...]
Gust and SyndicateRoom talk about their new crowdfunding partnership – and what it means for the industry January 28, 2016 There has been much talk that 2016 will be the year of consolidation, expansion and partnership within the P2P and crowdfunding industry. And one UK firm, SyndicateRoom, known for its investor-led model, has wasted no time in getting on with it. On Tuesday, the equity crowdfunding platform announced its collaboration with Gust, the world’s largest [...]
UK Pensions: Nearly one year on from introduction of pension freedoms, pensioners are not being as reckless as was feared with their lifetime savings January 28, 2016 People have not abused greater access to their pensions by splashing their cash on the fast life, with the new rules encouraging many to save for their retirement. A report released today by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) showed little evidence that people had maxed out their pension pots since the pension freedoms [...]
Hold your horses: The government’s plans for to let pensioners sell their annuities in a new secondary market are coming in for criticism January 27, 2016 Pensioners who bought an annuity will be given the freedom to sell it on from next year, under new government plans. But criticism is piling up, and it seems the new secondary marketplace will be a good idea for almost no-one – except the brokers who trade them. The details are still being ironed out, but [...]