You would have needed to be on the moon to avoid all the news about the radical pension changes that have been announced over the last few months! With further changes announced in the Autumn Statement the new pensions landscape from next April whilst ultimately far more flexible is also a lot more complex, writes […]

…so let’s get our heads around flexible working… and self employment. Major shifts in demographics are changing the way we look upon retirement, writes Tony Watts OBE. So what are the implications for our financial plans? I was part of a stimulating two-day gathering recently in London where several hundred people discussed the concept that […]

The new pension flexibility first announced in this year’s Budget was seen as a game changer by many in the pensions industry, yet the change in the rules only impact DC (Defined Contribution) pension arrangements such as Personal Pension Plans, Money Purchase Occupational Pensions and Stakeholder Pension plans. This creates a dilemma for some approaching […]

While the economists and politicians may disagree as to what lies ahead for our economy, the nation’s army of older people are basing their retirement plans on steady returns and low inflation and interest rates… with almost a third contemplating downsizing. Read more from Tony Watts OBE:

A Telegraph headline this week – “Take your mortgage to the grave” – simply articulated what has been obvious for some time now, writes Tony Watts OBE. Huge numbers of people in their 50s, 60s and beyond may well have assets in the form of a house and pension, but they are also carrying significant amounts […]

Since the Chancellor’s statement abolishing the so called ”death tax” on pension drawdown plans there has been much conjecture and some confusion as to the tax treatment of benefits arising on death under different types of plan.  We hope the following table clears up some of the confusion – however we must stress that the detail given is based on the tax regulations […]

George Osborne’s announcement removing the so called ”death tax” on SIPP Drawdown Plans builds further on the new flexibility and options announced in this year’s Budget and brings into sharper focus the relative merits of Drawdown and ISAs when planning for retirement, writes Mark Soper.

In his last Budget speech, writes Tony Watts, Chancellor George Osborne surprised everybody – not least the entire pensions industry as well as many of his fellow Conservative MPs – when he announced proposals to totally revisit the way that those entering into retirement can arrange their investment portfolio. Out would go the tyranny of […]

Happy with the changes to the pension system made by the Coalition Government? asks Tony Watts OBE. Importantly, what else might be in the pipeline as we come up to the next election? Your perspective on the pension reforms undertaken in the last couple of years may well depend on whether or not you are […]

Have the reforms to the State Pension gone far enough, fast enough? Just how fair are they – and have older pensioners in particular lost out? Tony Watts OBE asks Pensions Minister Steve Webb to put the record straight. Steve Webb regularly wins plaudits from all sides for his grasp of the complexities of the […]