City watchdog to probe pension freedom rip-offs

Official figures have revealed that pension funds have plummeted a further £25 million into the red. The fall in bond yields – on which pension funds rely – has increased the pressure on the pots available to support final salary scheme pay-outs. At the end of May, the pension backstop PPF (Pension Protection Fund) revealed that the roughly five and a half thousand pension schemes it monitors have a combined deficit of nearly £295 billion. This is almost £25.5 billion worse than a month earlier.

Fears for the robustness of pension pots have been highlighted by the widely reported BHS deficit.  They come as a separate study reveals some of Britain’s biggest companies are paying shareholders a dividend bonanza despite huge deficits of their own. The Pensions Regulator have issued a similar warning in the past, saying: ‘It is important that employers treat their pension scheme fairly. We expect trustees to question employers’ dividend policies where debt recovery contributions are constrained.’ 

New research has indicated that the income of British expats has fallen by 11% since 2005, meaning that there is now extra imperative for Brits abroad to benefit from the advice of the providers of expat financial services.

According to the study, the majority of expat pensioners live in countries within the Eurozone. As such it is possible that, for some, living and financial arrangements could be at risk in the event of Brexit, particularly as the value of their pensions has fallen by more than 4% over the past year.