- Pensions RSS Feed

Pension contributions 'may need to be made compulsory'

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

The state will need to make saving for pensions compulsory if the industry does not radically reform by 2017, a think-tank with the Government's ear will warn next month.

Less than half saving adequate amount for pension

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Pensions savings have hit a record low as hard-up workers prioritise other payments above saving for their retirement.

Consumer rights: 'How much of a priority is paying into a pension?'

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Q: I graduated last year and, after hundreds of applications, I've got a job in a small research lab. I'll start on the basic wage but I'm pleased to finally have a job in my area of expertise. I won't earn enough to start paying off my student loan for a while but I have the chance to join the company pension scheme. The employer will make contributions, as well as me paying in 3 per cent of my salary. I know it makes sense to save for the future but I have so many other priorities like my debts, finding a place to live and paying the bills. My dad wants me to join and says "you're never too young to save for retirement". I feel I'm too young to worry about it for a while yet. What should I do?

Workers ignorant of auto pension enrolment

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Almost 70 per cent of employees in Britain have little or no knowledge of the Government's plan to automatically enroll people into workplace pensions later this year.

Most still in the dark about pension auto-enrolment

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

What's auto-enrolment and how will it affect you? It may sound terribly boring, but it will have a major impact on an estimated 10 million people later this year.

'Don't bribe pensioners' says IDS

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Wealthy pensioners should not be "bribed" with state handouts like free bus passes and TV licences, Iain Duncan Smith claimed yesterday.

George Osborne told to help pensioners

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Pensioners and savers who have been hit by the Bank of England's policy of "quantitative easing" should be helped by the Government, MPs say today. The Treasury select committee warns that by effectively printing £325bn of new money, pensioners in particular have lost out, with reduced returns on annuities that provide their incomes.

Julian Knight: A 'defined ambition' is worthless if it turns into shattered dreams

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Steve Webb, the pensions minister, is a clever man; a professor no less. But sometimes academics can theorise too much, isolating themselves from the real world. Prime example of this is Professor Webb's "defined ambition" pension proposal.

Pension pontoon: Stick or twist?

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Pension pots have paid the price of the Bank of England's attempts to support the failing UK economy. Ultra low interest rates and quantitative easing have left pensioners who rely on their savings with paltry returns and today, those approaching retirement are suffering under the low gilt yield environment.

Bankrupts warned pension may count as income

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Bankrupts could face losing their private pension income, according to a High Court judgment handed down last week.

Debt clouds final years for half of all retirees

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Our sixties should be about enjoying holidays and spending time with family and friends but it seems that many retirees are instead struggling with alarming levels of personal debt.

Protect your pension and retirement plans from Osborne's tax grab

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

'Work till you drop", "Granny tax bombshell" and "Cut! Cut! Cut!" were a few of the less hysterical headlines to greet last Wednesday's Budget. Tax cuts for the rich and for low and middle earners were paid for by what has been dubbed an attack on pensions, pensioners and those about to retire.

'Government should leave pensions alone'

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:23:31 +0000

Chancellor George Osborne has been urged to resist the temptation to treat pensions “like an ATM”, amid speculation that a tax raid on them is being planned for the Budget.

£28bn pension windfall to reduce deficit

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:55:32 +0000

George Osborne will use a £28 billion windfall from the transfer to the state of Royal Mail pensions to reduce the deficit and not to pay for major projects, the Treasury said.

You can better your parents' pension

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Theirs is the "golden generation" that got it all, snapping up generous final-salary pensions, watching their homes soar in value and building up a retirement pot that will put the next generation to shame – or at least that's what their children think.

ISA or a pension? The choice is yours

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Many people putting money into ISAs this month will be viewing their investment as a possible way of saving for retirement. Individuals savings accounts appear to be winning the battle for hearts and minds while pension products are seen as becoming more confusing and inflexible.

Pensions or ISAs: What's best for your savings pot?

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Individual savings accounts and pensions get a very different press. Whereas ISAs are widely seen as a bit of an investment no-brainer, shielding your savings and investments from tax, the word pensions is so often lumped together with the "crisis", "mis-selling" and "rip-off". But what is the truth? If there is a straight shoot-out between ISAs and pensions for your savings pot, where should you put it?

Julian Knight: Give everyone earlier access to their pensions

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

A third of workers have told the National Association of Pension funds that they will not allow themselves to be auto enrolled into their workplace pension scheme in October. Lack of ready cash is of course a major, and understandable, reason but a sizeable minority cite lack of trust in the pension industry as well as distress over poor annuity rates.

Osborne urged to rethink pensions

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:25:13 +0000

Stripping higher-rate tax relief on the pensions of high and middle-income savers will "catastrophically undermine" trust in a system already in crisis, a group of industry experts and businesses leaders has warned.

Taxpayer 'cannot afford' officers' high pensions

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Police officer pensions have become an unaffordable drain on police budgets, a report today claims.

Unite leader Len McCluskey calls for mass disruption of Olympics

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Britain's biggest union threatened to disrupt the London Olympics last night as part of its battle against cuts to public sector pensions.

Unions add voice to warnings over pension unlocking 'sharks'

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Trade unions have urged workers to avoid pension unlocking firms, which loan money secured against a pension or transfer pension cash into a high risk investment.

Doctors to vote on industrial action in protest at changes to pensions

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

More than 100,000 doctors are to be balloted on industrial action as the stand-off between the Government and the medical profession escalates.

Company pension schemes fall to record low popularity

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

The number of employees saving into a workplace pension has fallen to less than half for the first time since official records began. They've slipped to a low of 48 per cent, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Numbers with company pensions falls

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:39:26 +0000

The proportion of people in a workplace pension has fallen below half for the first time in at least 15 years, prompting calls for confidence in schemes to be rebuilt.

Pensions deficit eases

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:57 +0000

The total deficit of private sector final-salary pension schemes has eased back from its previous record high, Pension Protection Fund (PPF) figures showed today.

More work needed on pension reforms

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:08:15 +0000

Negotiations over the Government's controversial public sector pension reforms, which sparked a huge strike last year, have still not been concluded, one of the main unions involved in the dispute said today.

Row brews over Bank of England's £50bn QE boost

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Businesses and pensioners are at loggerheads over the merits of further monetary stimulus by the Bank of England. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said yesterday that another £50bn of quantitative easing by the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee today is necessary to support the ailing UK economy. David Kern, the chief economist of the BCC, said: "Though many of the benefits of QE feel intangible on the ground, it remains a critical bulwark for the UK financial system and the wider economy."

Pension funds celebrate as BP ups its dividend

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

BP brought cheer to Britain's pension funds yesterday as the oil giant hiked its quarterly dividend by 14 per cent.

Julian Knight: Pension compromise simply postpones the inevitable pain

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

The Institute of Fiscal Studies was busy last week. First, the IFS calculated that the Government's public-sector pension reforms will not save the Exchequer any money.

'Unfair' annuities cost elderly dear

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Millions of private-sector workers saving for their retirement are at the mercy of a "hugely unfair annuity system" which lops up to £1bn off their combined pension incomes every year, according to leading pensions experts.