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City watchdog to probe pension freedom rip-offs

Clearly, shopping around for the right pension can mean the difference between a miserable and comfortable retirement.  When deciding what do with your pension, it is crucial that you receive appropriate independent advice to explain what options are available.  Many people are used to doing this for their insurance needs already, so it makes sense to do the same with the form of income that will dictate what sort of lifestyle you have on retirement.

Therefore, the review will focus on understanding the extent to which pensioners can compare the larger range of retirement options available to them since the introduction of the new pension freedoms.  The FCA was quoted as saying: ‘We want to understand whether savers can compare products, shop around, switch providers where they are not receiving what they want and make good, informed, decisions’. 

The watchdog’s remit is to look at the availability of options for people moving towards retirement.

 

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

The Pensions Black Hole

Meeting financial advisorThere’s quite a buzz around pensions at the moment – and rightly so, as they provide the backbone of our income in our later years. But currently, pension deficits are hitting the news, and figuring them out can still prove difficult.

Pension deficits concern what are commonly known as “final salary pensions” or Defined Benefit schemes.   Final salary or defined benefit (DB) schemes are essentially occupational pension schemes that provide a set level of pension at retirement, the amount of which normally depends on your service and earnings at retirement or in the years immediately preceding when you retire. Because your pensionable salary is used as one part of the formula in order to calculate your pension, a final salary scheme is commonly referred to as a ‘salary related’ scheme. Two common examples of ‘final pensionable salary’ would be your last year’s pensionable earnings or an average of your last 3 years’ pensionable salary.

Recently, there have been high-profile failures of these systems, such as the folding of Monarch Airlines – and the collapse of their pension fund. Initially, it appeared that owners could still walk away with a profit (after new hands tried to turn the airline into a more accessible and “Ryanair-like” product) by offloading debts, and this included dropping the pension fund. Ironically, this was once a major credit to the business. The fund, which is now in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), had been under speculation of being left short when the business first began to struggle back in 2014, after years of asset-stripping.

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Returning British expats could face high property prices

Spanish buildingsIt’s hardly a new revelation to state that Brexit has caused uncertainty for British expats. Until the EU and British government reach a final agreement in Brussels, the lives of many expatriates are certainly in a state of limbo.

Depending on how negotiations unfold, Britons who are living abroad may need to move back to their home country. But trends in the housing market, in both the UK and EU countries, suggest they could run into financial difficulty if they haven’t made sufficient wealth management plans for the future.

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