The European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama) has urged the European Commission to create a standardised Pan-European personal pension product (Pepp) – in response to ongoing plans to create a single market for financial retail products.
The chancellor George Osborne has introduced a new Lifetime Isa which allows anyone under 40 to save up to £4,000 each year tax free, with the government giving savers £1 for every £4 saved.
Accountants working in the UK are ill-equipped to deal with the growing demand for personal financial advice following recent changes to early pension access, according to a new poll by retirement lending adviser Bower Private Clients.
Providers expecting the reduced lifetime allowance (LTA) to spur offshore bond sales to UK residents are guilty of “wishful thinking” according to a number of distributors, who are failing to see any increase in appetite.
Concerns around the upcoming UK budget saw consumers making the most of their pension benefits in February with self-invested personal pension (Sipp) contributions up by 203% compared with the same month last year.
Nearly eight out of 10 globally mobile workers underestimate the amount of savings needed to fund their future retirement, a study by deVere Group has found.
Over a third (36%) of professional advisers expect to recommend more offshore bonds to clients following reductions to annual and lifetime limits for pension contributions, according to Canada Life.
The UK chancellor George Osborne has abandoned plans to shake up the pension tax system in this month’s budget after pressure from Conservative MPs, according to media reports.
The amount of tax the UK government collects from pension savers who have breached their lifetime allowance (LTA) has almost quadrupled since George Osborne became chancellor, The Sunday Times reported.
Pensions are a tax efficient and flexible way to save towards retirement but time is running out in the UK to use this year’s allowance, says Sarah Lord, managing director of Killik Chartered Financial Planners.
There will be winners and losers as a new £5,000 dividend allowance is introduced from April and advisers should review wrappers and seek fresh solutions to ensure investors make most of the new tax break.
Trust-based schemes are being called on to improve their transparency and accountability following HM Treasury’s latest consultation on pension transfers and early exit charges.
