Will Self: "It’s impossible to talk about changes in the SIPP market without talking about how decumulation options have changed. The environment has completely transformed from the days when most people bought annuities, and even drawdown came with fixed income limits."

An informational animation created by Dunstan Thomas, featuring the state of the UK pensions & investments climate. In some regions of the UK, the gap between the value of pensions of men and women is almost 50%

An informational animation created by Dunstan Thomas, featuring the state of the UK pensions & investments climate.

HMRC recently released a range of statistics relating to personal and stakeholder pensions. Below Jessica List summarises the highlights and what they may mean for advisers' clients...

38% of Baby Boomers want to continue working into their 70s but HR departments are still pushing too many out in their early 60s.

There is a surprising amount of flexibility when it comes to succession planning with commercial property investments, making it an important part of the journey to consider for both clients and their beneficiaries. Jessica List explores commercial property in her latest PA article, in which she discusses two ways of passing on a commercial property pension investment...

Tax Year 2021/22 is set to be a record year - the highest ever recorded for investing in Venture Capital Trusts (VCT). Total capital raised for investing in shares or securities, including loans of at least five years duration, in unquoted companies and those whose shares are traded on AIM is on target to reach £900m before the end of the current tax year.

The major benefit of potting is by setting aside perhaps 20% of your portfolio in cash you can avoid selling down assets during periods when there is a lack of knowledge-based pricing and wait for a ‘new normal’ to appear.

Intergenerational fairness isn’t meant to pit generations against each other but draw attention to how economic or societal developments affect generations differently. It’s also the perfect opportunity to talk with clients about involving their families in their succession planning.

It's a complex world. On one hand, I worry about who has access to my personal data and how they are using it. On the other, I get incredibly frustrated when I can't immediately resolve the latest annoying failure of my ageing memory (normally music trivia).

An informational animation created by Dunstan Thomas, featuring the state of the UK pensions & investments climate. 2.1 million pensioners are living in poverty after housing costs

Two-fifths (40 per cent) of Baby Boomers aged 58 and over with defined contribution (DC) pensions do not remember receiving a wake up pack, while a further 30 per cent believe they never received a wake-up pack, according to research from Dunstan Thomas.

Traditionally, state pension age was 60 for women and 65 for men, but it then underwent a process of equalisation. Now, both sexes are entitled to retire at the same age - but whether people choose to or not is a different matter entirely.

According to the Dunstan Thomas’ nationwide study, the average length of time that this group plans to work beyond their 66th birthday is 4.3 years when they will be over 70 years old. The current average retirement age of this generation is rising steadily and now stands at 63.4 years, the study found.

Nearly 40% of Baby Boomers are likely to work beyond state pension age according to research from Dunstan Thomas. In fact, 38% of Boomers aged 58 to 75 are set to retire later than the current state pension age of 66. The average length of time that this group plan to work on beyond their 66th birthday is 4.3 years. It means they look to retire beyond the age of 70.

A quarter (25 per cent) of Baby Boomers plan to or have already used regulated financial advice to gain more knowledge about pensions before they fully retire. A further 15 per cent plan to use, or have already used, guidance services from the likes of Citizens Advice Bureau, MoneyHelper and Pension Wise services.

There is some speculation that on Spring Budget Day on Wednesday 23rd March, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce plans to phase out or even scrap tax-free cash as he searches for ways to recoup HM Treasury losses incurred during the pandemic and pay for anticipated new costs associated with placing stringent economic sanctions on Russia as it continues to prosecute its war on Ukraine.

Research by technology solutions provider Dunstan Thomas finds there is a burgeoning demand for financial advice among unretired Baby Boomers. Over a third of them have not yet calculated how much retirement income they will be able to take from accessing all their pension and investment savings at retirement. That represents 49% of all the people between 58 and 75 years old in the UK.

Research from Dunstan Thomas showed 43 per cent of Britain’s baby boomers, those aged between 58 and 75, have accessed their 25 per cent tax free cash at least in part. Of those, a quarter (24 per cent) had put the cash straight into their bank account, where it is being threatened by rising inflation.

Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of people aged between 58 and 75 have already taken out all of their tax-free pension lump sum, a survey by Dunstan Thomas has found. According to the research, a further 19 per cent had taken out some of their 25 per cent tax-free pension allowance, meaning that 43 per cent of Baby Boomers had accessed their tax-free allowance. Of those who had taken some or all of their pension tax-free cash, 24 per cent had put the cash straight into the bank.

43%: Of Baby Boomers have already taken their tax-free cash. 13% Used it to pay down unsecured debt including credit card debts. 10% Used it to pay for home improvements

One of the reasons why those incredibly thirsty Formula One racing cars still attract a huge following is the transferable technology benefits to road cars. Despite only managing around six miles per gallon around the track, top name sponsors still queue up to be involved with them because they have so much to offer that could reduce wear and tear for us regular car users down the road.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched investment pathways last year, to help non-advised customers as they approach the transition from accumulation to decumulation.The theory was to increase engagement in the range of options open to policyholders in the wake of pension freedoms and at the same time address growing numbers who had taken their tax-free cash and left the other three-quarters of the pot held in cash.

Lifetime allowance (LTA) protection is still one of the most popular topics we receive technical queries about at Curtis Banks. It's easy to understand why: with eight different forms available (counting all the enhancement factors as a single type), all with different rules and requirements, it's not easy remembering exactly how each works.

This recommendation was one of several made in the Work and Pensions Committee’s recent report into the risks that have arisen from pension freedoms. I’m not sure how decoupling on its own would help savers achieve better outcomes.

Adrian Boulding looks at ESG investing in the pensions space and shares how clients can invest to save the planet while protecting their retirement income. The growing awareness of the climate emergency and a greater focus on creating a fairer, more inclusive, and equitable society accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic has led to widespread governmental and regulatory changes.

A new client's pension contribution history can be patchy, writes Jessica List, who outlines five easily forgotten points about carry forward rules for advisers. When looking into a new client's pension savings, you might discover that their contribution history is patchy at best.

Understanding the advantages collective defined contribution pension schemes can offer clients
The DWP recently launched its consultation on draft collective defined contribution pensions scheme regulations, which is due to close on 31 August. Once these regulations are firmed up, by the end of this year in all probability, single or connected employers will be able to open collective defined contribution schemes for their employees.

For many people, defined contribution pensions are now a significant consideration when it comes to intergenerational planning. We often hear from advisers that, where clients have other potential sources of retirement income, they will try to leave a DC pension intact due to the death benefits planning opportunities.

It’s a busy time indeed for headhunters and recruitment agents alike. Demand is outstripping the supply of talent, and I’m not just talking about the scarcity of HGV drivers now. As the hybrid workplace takes hold, there is an increasing strain on HR departments to develop new working policies, while simultaneously responding to rapid salary inflation.

Jessica List looks at an ill-health retirement case study where a SIPP comes in handy... Julia is 51. She has suffered from osteoarthritis since her early 40s, which has gradually been making it harder for her to continue running her boutique clothing store. Julia has been maximising her pension contributions to her SIPP over the last few years, intending to retire at 55 when she reaches the current normal minimum pension age.

Consolidation – there’s a lot of it about at the moment. I attended a speech by pensions minister Guy Opperman (yes, a real one in the flesh) in which he lauded his forthcoming legislation that will use the cloak of value for money to force sub-£100m occupational pension schemes to consolidate. And who can argue with improved member outcomes?

In one of my recent lockdown thought pieces which Retirement Planner kindly gives space to each month, I alluded to the perils of failing to prepare for long-term care (LTC) provision. I mentioned the heartache that this is causing families up and down the land as the children of more and more parents face the prospect of finding the considerable amounts to pay for it.

In one of my recent lockdown thought pieces which Retirement Planner kindly gives space to each month, I alluded to the perils of failing to prepare for long-term care (LTC) provision. I mentioned the heartache that this is causing families up and down the land as the children of more and more parents face the prospect of finding the considerable amounts to pay for it.

The DWP recently launched its consultation on draft collective defined contribution pensions scheme regulations, which is due to close on 31 August. Once these regulations are firmed up, by the end of this year in all probability, single or connected employers will be able to open collective defined contribution schemes for their employees.

We are all revolutionaries now. We are participants and actors in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). This revolution is a global event, and its intensity is picking up as time goes on. The 4IR as a term was first coined by Klaus Schwab the founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Curtis Banks Group CEO Will Self explores the fundamentals of what a SIPP is and tackles the most commonly asked SIPP questions in the East Anglian Daily Times. Read the full article here.

Much has been written on intergenerational transfer of wealth. It is a key focus for financial advice and consequently a key opportunity for present and future value across the industry. The Resolution Foundation in 2017 wrote extensively on the intergenerational contract: the principle that different generations provide support to each other across the different stages of their lives.

We’re getting older and sicker. While the government twiddles its thumbs on the solution, there is plenty you can do to set clients up for a good care outcome.

Andrew Martin looks at the personal data economy, asks if consumers have enough protection and explores the implications for advice and wealth management.

Prince Buster was a Jamaican Ska singer-songwriter. If you like Madness or the Specials, you’ll know where their influences came from. In any event, as the summer staycation rain fell last weekend, I popped into my local independent record store and spent an hour or so flipping through the records. I came across a Prince Buster album with a great album cover and just had to buy it.

The regulator’s plan to introduce a stronger nudge to pension guidance could lead to more people seeking advice, industry experts have claimed. Pensions commentators have dismissed concerns that a push towards guidance could undermine advisers, saying the advice process can provide much better support for clients.

You may recall back in the early spring the national media were crowing about the speed and effectiveness of the UK vaccination programme. Some were keen to compare it against the sluggish start by the EU. It was as if the UK vaccination roll-out here was somehow a vindication of Brexit.

Small self-administered schemes (SSAS) had been around for 17 years before its younger brother self-invested personal pensions (SIPP) got here in 1990, offering many of the investment freedoms SSAS members had been enjoying but without the need for a sponsoring employer.

It's nearly two years since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its seminal‘Guidance Consultation 19-03' on the treatment of vulnerable customers and three months since the regulator concluded its final guidance entitled: ‘FG21/1 Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers'...

My mother is 92 and requires full-time care. Like many of her generation, as we pass the D-Day anniversary she vividly recalls her days as teenager in the war, in her case, in Malta. She could differentiate a German bomber from an Italian bomber no less, by the tone of its engines as they flew overhead to bomb the harbours around Valletta.

This evening I had my second jab, the AZ flavour. I hope I’ll be okay tomorrow. Last time around, after the first jab I had a bout of shivers and sweats the following day. As of today, over 60 million vaccinations have been administered in the UK, with over 22.6 million people having received two jabs.

It’s well known that when it comes to commercial property investments, pensions can only purchase the bricks and mortar: anything moveable such as fixtures and fittings aren’t allowed. But what about cases where there isn’t even a building?

It’s well known that when it comes to commercial property investments, pensions can only purchase the bricks and mortar: anything moveable such as fixtures and fittings aren’t allowed. But what about cases where there isn’t even a building?

The middle of May is fast approaching and there’s a great deal of expectancy associated with further easing of lockdown flowing through the country. I write this article in flight. Above the deep blue Mediterranean, tufts of distant clouds seem to anticipate my arrival in Malta – the land of my birth.