Retirement

John Hutton, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has dismissed fears the private sector is not the "natural area of society or the economy" to run personal accounts.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions John Hutton has confirmed he has reconsidered the proposals to cap contributions in personal accounts at £5,000.

Proposals put forward in a consultation paper on the rolling deregulatory review of defined benefit pensions could see pensioners income fall by around 30% in the next 10 years, warns Standard Life.

Most IFAs say yes but, worringly for the regulator, the majority also say it is having very little impact on the way they operate.

Jargon related to pensions is putting more than 14 million UK workers off planning for their retirement, claims new research from Aviva.

The Actuarial Profession is the latest organisation to point out the dangers of personal accounts being introduced into a pensions system which includes means-testing.

The activity level in pensions lobbying circles has recently edged up a notch or two. We received the White Paper on personal accounts just before Christmas, and now are turning our attention to drafting a response by the deadline of 20th March.

Zopa has confirmed it is in progressive talks with a number of specialist Self Invested Pension Providers to allow ‘social lending' to become an acceptable asset class for a pension.

FOUR out of five IFAs still intend to recommend Alternatively Secured Pensions (ASPs) despite the proposed new charges announced in the pre-budget report, according to research commissioned by Skandia.

IFAs were asked if they are prepared for the next stage of TCF, in April, and whether it has hade much of a difference to the way they operate.