Bank House Investment Management, the personal wealth division of the UK-based Bank House group, has been barred from carrying out business such as advising on investments after an investigation by the regulator into its pension transfer business.
St James’s Place, one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers, has come under fire over claims it will not be caught by an incoming cap on exit charges.
Isle of Man-based pension provider Optimus has launched a new qualifying non-UK pension scheme (Qnups) aimed at wealthy individuals hit hard by the UK’s lifetime allowance cap as well as the annual tax taper.
British insurer Aviva is in talks to team up with social media giant LinkedIn to create a scheme to track millions of forgotten pension pots.
A UK court has ruled that a £75,000 ($92,106, €87,429) loan taken out by a client to fund investments as part of a pension transfer was a form of pension liberation and should be subject to tax.
A US pension fund manager has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a $2.5bn (€2.3bn, £2.02bn) pay-to-play scheme, including cocaine and hookers.
The UK government’s plans to tighten rules on transferring money out of pensions to tackle widespread fraud, has been described as “anti-consumer” by Rops provider Momentum Pensions, which warns the move will unfairly restrict transfers to overseas pensions.
The UK Government’s proposed ban on pensions cold-calling will deter scammers but must be just the start of a concerted effort to drive fraudsters out of the market, says AJ Bell.
The OECD, a Paris-based economic body, has called on the UK government to ensure people have access to financial advice following the introduction of the pension freedoms.
Nearly two years after the UK pension freedoms were introduced, the British government believes the current massive scale of scamming activity surrounding the industry warrants new laws to limit the rights of savers to transfer money out of existing schemes for their own protection.
Chancellor Philip Hammond took to the despatch box for his first and final Autumn Statement on Wednesday. To the relief on many he resisted further tinkering of the pension system.
The government’s plans to crack down on pension cold calling have been hailed as a “golden opportunity” to correct the UK’s “disastrous” rules that are as much use as a “chocolate teapot”, says Angela Brooks of Pension Life.
