Retirement News & Insights

The ex-pensions minister Steve Webb is urging the government and the HMRC to do more to alert grandparents to all the pension perks they're entitled to after it was revealed that the overwhelming majority are not receiving the full state pension. By missing out on a particular benefit, unknowing eligible grandparents are missing out on £231 a year. Over the course of their full retirement, this could possibly lead to a loss of thousands of pounds.

It is a scheme called the Specified Adult Childcare Credit. It is thought that only 1,300 grandparents are taking advantage of it despite 100,000 being eligible (a mere one per cent). The scope of the problem was found out by Webb when he sent a Freedom of Information request to the HMRC.

The purpose behind the Specified Adult Childcare Credit is to allow grandparents who give up work completely to help raise their grandchildren the chance to claim National Insurance (NI) credits.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has issued a strong warning against government proposals to raise the state pension age to 68 (with the possibility of being raised higher to 70). It has said that such a scenario would create significant problems – an "unacceptable detriment" – for those with low life expectancy.

The statement comes in response to a report released by the Independent Review of the State Pension. The review was led by former CBI director general John Cridland.

Any person with either a personal or professional interest in pension transfers in Grand Cayman will be interested to learn that the UK's Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has announced details of a new pension transfers qualification that is designed to enhance the knowledge of those providing pension transfers advice.

The new level 4 Certificate in Pension Transfers is comprised of four compulsory units, including a new advanced level 6 unit called "(AF7) Pension transfers", as well as the following three CII level 4 units:

A judge at a UK court has ruled that limitations in the law mean divorcing partners cannot make claims for the QROPS pensions of their British expat ex-partners.

This ruling relating to overseas QROPS pensions was reached in the High Court as part of the protracted and embittered divorce settlement of Amit and Ankita Goyal.

The couple divorced during the summer of 2013 and an earlier court hearing in October 2015 ruled that the husband should pay a financial settlement to his wife. However, it was not until the High Court decision in October 2016 that clarity was offered in respect of the husband's £87,000 India-based QROPS pension.

One of the most common questions asked of expat financial services firms is what should clients do with their pensions. Some wish to keep all their money in a UK-based pension, some will look to transfer to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) and others will want to take a tax-free lump sum from their fund. In short, what an individual chooses to do will depend heavily on their personal circumstances together with any advice they receive from their expat financial services professional.

Pensions transfers for expats may become simpler if the Department for Work & Pensions follows through on plans to drop the requirement for consumers to receive accredited advice before making an expat pension transfer.

News of the DWP's plan came via a consultation paper published on 30 September. However, before the government gives the go-ahead to any such change in the law as is it relates to pensions transfers for expats, it is first looking for the views of experts and stakeholders.

Those of you lucky enough (or so we thought) to have accumulated a pension pot over your working life time – with the promise  of a good pension upon reaching 60 (such as the equivalent of two thirds of your final salary) may be in for a shock. Just like endowments, when these arrangements were […]

There has never been a better time than now for British nationals living in the EU to consolidate their retirement plans by properly investigating their expat pensions options.

Post-Brexit, sterling has fallen dramatically against the euro and for many the uncertainty surrounding expat pensions is causing understandable anxiety.

Currently, British expats living in the EU receive an annual rise in the state pension; however, this could change in the post-Brexit environment, meaning that many face the prospect of frozen pensions and as a result are giving serious consideration to the idea of returning to the UK.

While these uncertainties are not to be dismissed lightly it is worth remembering that exit negotiations are yet to begin and freedom of movement and state and expat pensions are all likely to be issues for discussion once talks do start.