Unite to begin balloting Gatwick staff on strike action over closure of pensions scheme October 20, 2016 Unite has announced it will begin balloting 1,800 members for strike action next Friday over the closure of Gatwick’s final salary pension scheme. Surface transport workers, firefighters and security officers are to be balloted, following a 96 per cent vote in favour of doing so in a recent consultative ballot. It will close on 16 [...]
Decide the rules and then leave them alone for at least 10 years, the government is told October 20, 2016 The boss of a leading financial adviser has made a direct appeal to the government to "simplify and stabilise the UK savings system". Andy Bell, the chief executive of AJ Bell, wrote to both chancellor Philip Hammond and pensions minister Richard Harrington to urge them to set up a new independent pensions tax commission whose recommendations would be set [...]
Experts react to dropping of Osborne’s flagship secondary annuity market October 19, 2016 Yesterday's announcement to scrap George Osborne's plans to create a secondary annuity market was unsurprising to many. According to some experts the writing was on the wall as soon as the process was delayed until April 2017. Nevertheless, there was a lot of noise from analysts and experts. Read more: Government bins plans for secondary [...]
Most Brits do not realise that they’ll be paying more and more into their pension scheme in years to come October 19, 2016 British workers are blissfully unaware of a number of key government initiatives on saving for retirement after wide-ranging report revealed the extent of the country's understanding on workplace pensions. With two-thirds of eligible UK workers now enrolled into a workplace scheme, according to a report prepared by Scottish Widows 68 per cent of people do not realise that their [...]
Gap between RPI and CPI is a £100bn problem for final salary pension schemes October 18, 2016 Experts said that today's inflation figures indicate that £100bn could be saved by switching annual adjustments in pension pay outs from the retail price index (RPI) to the consumer price index (CPI). Defined benefit, or final salary, pension schemes are adjusted for inflation and many have a "hardwire" link to RPI rather than the government's current main reference index, the CPI. RPI for September was [...]
Economic minister Simon Kirby bins plans for secondary annuity market: Is this a sign that more pension reforms are on the horizon? October 18, 2016 One of George Osborne's cornerstone policies on increasing pension freedoms has been dropped by the government, the economic secretary announced today. In March 2015, the government announced plans to set up a secondary market in order to give pensioners greater access to cashing in annuities. Read more: Over-55s need to go on this kind of shopping spree more [...]
Five ways government can cut the soaring cost of car insurance for honest drivers October 18, 2016 The rising cost of insurance understandably concerns many motorists. The average comprehensive motor insurance premium has risen by 10 per cent over the last year. Today we lift the lid on what is driving up the costs of motor insurance, and what is needed to give hard-pressed honest motorists a break. Lifting the Bonnet on [...]
Are you part of a failed final salary pension scheme? Your income could be about to rise October 17, 2016 Pensioners involved in failed final salary schemes will receive a boost in their incomes from next year, the government has said. The Pension Protection Fund safeguards final salary schemes if employers fail and they cannot provide the money to employees they were promised. But anyone who is an early retiree, or who is not yet retired [...]
Higher taxes and more debt are the only alternatives to real state pension reform October 13, 2016 Engineering an exit from the European Union will be the most significant administrative challenge faced by Whitehall since the Second World War. But ministers must resist the temptation to put the public service reform agenda on the backburner. The economic uncertainty created by June’s referendum means that driving efficiency is now more important than ever. [...]
Experts react to the Cridland report on the state pension age October 13, 2016 The former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, John Cridland, today published an interim report into the state pension age for the department of work and pensions. The report's 100 pages covered a lot of ground and although it shied away from making firm recommendations, it may gave an indication into how the government plans to [...]