All freedom and choice articles
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NewsStudy shows savers are shunning advice over pension freedoms
A decade on from the introduction of pension freedoms, more research has emerged showing that a growing proportion of pension savers are taking no advice or guidance at all before accessing their retirement savings, despite a lack of understanding of the decisions and options available.
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News10 years of pension freedoms: How people are accessing their retirement savings
A decade on from the introduction of pension freedoms, new research reveals that many eligible savers opted to withdraw from their pension under these rules without seeking any advice at all.
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OpinionA decade of ‘freedom and choice’: Time to rethink advice provision
Glyn Bradley of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries looks back on a decade of pension freedoms and ahead to how we can make the policy work better for members.
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FeaturesPension freedoms 10 years on: A progress report
It’s a decade since the government announced the end of compulsory annuitisation. What effect has it had?
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NewsACA: HMRC must give greater clarity to avoid "pensions limbo" for DB schemes and members
The pensions industry requires greater clarity from government departments, if defined benefit (DB) schemes and members are not to find themselves in a “tax limbo”, warned the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) this morning.
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NewsRetirement risks make UK drop to 10th in global pensions index
The UK slipped from ninth to 10th in Mercer’s latest retirement income survey, as the long-term shift from defined benefit to defined contribution leaves members facing greater retirement risks.
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NewsPodcast: Trustees struggling to guide members on inflation benefits
Podcast: A report from XPS Pensions suggests that members could reap £10,000 additional benefits by delaying retirement because of the way increases and inflation are calculated, but trustees are struggling to help them because of the “red tape” around advice. LCP partner Laura Amin is joined by Hymans Robertson partner Patrick Bloomfield to discuss benefits’ inflation calculation and advice, concerns about defined benefit funding, and the women’s state pension age investigation.
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NewsRetirement guidance is improving but decumulation challenges remain
On the go:Support available to those approaching retirement is improving, particularly in master trusts, but a comprehensive framework is still required to ensure all savers get the help they need, according to new research.
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NewsPodcast: Partial AE reform should be prioritised before long-term fix
Podcast: The absence of auto-enrolment reform from the Queen’s speech means the government will be hard-pressed to meet its middle-of-the-decade deadline to achieve it. The priority should be getting the most important parts done as quickly as possible, and introducing the rest of the 2017 reform proposals enacted longer-term. Sackers partner Helen Ball and Mark Ormston, chair of the Industry Policy Committee at the Pensions Administration Standards Association, discuss auto-enrolment, online safety and the proposed value for money framework.
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NewsL&G ‘well advanced’ with commercial dashboard development
Legal & General is “well advanced” with the development of a commercial dashboard, building on the work done in the alpha and beta stages of the Pensions Dashboards Programme.
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NewsOpperman rules out mandatory guidance for 50-year-olds
Pensions minister Guy Opperman has ruled out the prospect of automatic appointments for 50-year-olds with Pension Wise as it would be expensive and ineffective.
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NewsPolice officers reiterate McCloud criticisms in consultation response
A campaign group representing police officers dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the 2015 public sector pension reforms have reiterated their complaints in response to the McCloud consultation, calling for the changes to be reversed.
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People NewsFrank Field recognised in New Year honours
On the go: Frank Field, former Work and Pensions Committee chair, has received one of the most exclusive awards in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list.
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NewsWPC launches third stage of pension freedoms inquiry
On the go: The Work and Pensions Committee has opened the final stage of its pension freedoms inquiry with a call for evidence on the challenges of saving for later life.
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NewsCabinet Office opens consultation as McCloud challenges mount
The Cabinet Office has launched a consultation on how the McCloud remedy is to be implemented for members of the civil service pension scheme, while the GMB union has joined the list of those challenging it in the courts.
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NewsPension videos could boost guidance take-up, govt told
On the go: Videos could help encourage up to 60 per cent of people to take up the government’s free pensions guidance offer, a response to a Work and Pensions Committee inquiry has claimed.
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NewsUnion calls for McCloud fix for civil service retirees
On the go: The Public and Commercial Services Union has warned that former civil servants who retired early for health reasons are not being paid what they are owed under the McCloud remedy, and has called on the Cabinet Office to apply the same fix recently agreed with firefighters
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NewsMembers on lower incomes to pay more in NHS pensions overhaul
The government has announced its intent to overhaul the way in which NHS Pension Scheme members pay contributions from April next year, following the implementation of the McCloud remedy.
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NewsPublic sector schemes told to conclude 2016 valuations
The Government Actuary’s Department has agreed with HM Treasury that its amendments to the cost-control framework used in public sector schemes meet the government’s policy objectives, drawing a line under the troubled 2016 valuation process and allowing public sector schemes to complete these.
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NewsTrustees on the hook as ‘high street’ advice market goes into free fall
Trustees are being saddled with the burden of sourcing financial advice for members as the high street advice market goes into free fall, halving in just three years, LCP has said.