FCA calls for contingent charging ban on pension transfer advice July 30, 2019 Britain’s markets watchdog has proposed banning financial advisers from getting paid only when a customer moves a pension pot, a practice known as contingent charging that it said cost consumers £2bn per year. MPs called for the ban last year after accusing the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of being too slow to prevent “vulture” advisers [...]
What are the banks doing to help survivors of financial abuse? July 29, 2019 Money ultimately brings us freedom, so what if your partner were to restrict access to your income or bank account? It’s not uncommon for perpetrators of domestic abuse to manipulate their partners through money in this way – in fact, according to Women’s Aid, a third of survivors say that their access to cash during [...]
FCA tries to take consumers back to the nineties ahead of PPI deadline July 29, 2019 The animatronic head of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the eight-time world memory champion have been enlisted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help consumers remember if they were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). With a month to go before the deadline for making PPI complaints to providers, the FCA has launched a campaign that aims [...]
Pension savings are being left in cash after M&G property fund blocks withdrawals July 17, 2019 M&G, which is owned by Prudential, insists that the deferral is not related to Brexit or the wider property market
Regulator investigates ‘shape-shifting’ firms who shirk duties on employee pensions July 17, 2019 The Pensions Regulator said today it will hunt down companies that change their names to dodge workplace pension obligations. Several small and medium-sized employers have tried to employ “shape-shifting” tactics to avoid paying their staff’s pensions, it said. Those breaching their auto-enrolment duties could be subject to “short-notice inspections”. Read more: Prudential UK property fund delays [...]
Stop nudging people towards property at the expense of their pension – it’s irresponsible July 16, 2019 Suggestions that young workers should be able to dip into their pension savings to help buy their first home are unhelpful
‘Part-time pensions penalty’ slashes women’s retirement pots July 11, 2019 Women are on average £106,000 worse off in retirement than men, partly because such a high proportion work part-time, according to research. By their 60s, women typically have £51,100 in their pension – just one third of an average man’s £156,500 pot, the Pensions Policy Institute has calculated. Read more: Without action, a crisis over [...]
Prudential UK property fund delays withdrawals for up to six months July 4, 2019 Last week Bank of England governor Mark Carney said these types of funds were "built on a lie"
Gender pension gap revealed as women twice as likely not to save for retirement June 24, 2019 Women in the UK are twice as likely as men to not save for retirement, new research has revealed. One third of British women have no pension plan, against only 17 per cent of men. Read more: Gender pay gap data reveals the financial services with wider than average discrepancies Meanwhile, 41 per cent of [...]
FCA to crack down on unacceptable defined benefit pension transfer advice June 19, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority today warned that it is to crack down on poor advice around defined benefit pension transfers. The City watchdog said too much advice it has seen to date is “not of an acceptable standard”. The FCA said it was concerned that too many financial advisers are recommending that large numbers of [...]