Latest - PENSIONS

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  Why VCTS are more relevant this year than ever

  23 February 2020

  PThe increased focus on pension contribution limits have brought venture capital trusts (VCTs) further into the advice spectrum, says Paul Latham, Octopus Investments.  Advice firms are increasingly turning to venture capital trusts (VCTs) particularly as tightening limits on pension contributions have meant more clients need an alternative way to invest tax efficiently. It has made VCTs...

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  Pension transfer values regain lost ground

  19 February 2020

  Defined benefit (DB) transfer values regained much of the ground they had lost in the last quarter of 2019, according to XPS Transfer Watch, and the number of members taking a transfer value reached the highest level in almost a year. XPS Pensions Group’s Transfer Value Index rose almost 3% from £238,800 at the...

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  SSAS – areas of confusion and provider practice

  12 February 2020

  Features that distinguish a SSAS from a SIPP can cause confusion, says Stephen McPhillips, technical sales director, Dentons Pension Management. He examines some of these issues and questions which stem from some differences in practice between providers. Small self administered schemes (SSAS) continue to be a popular choice for small- and medium-sized company business...

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  Chancellor’s pension contribution tax raid would be ‘a step too far’

  11 February 2020

  Reports speculating that Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid will announce cuts to the pension tax relief in next month’s Budget, have drawn warnings from experts that changes would raise complexities that could severely dent savers’ confidence in pensions, a “step too far” that would result in a diminished pensions savings environment. One of the...

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  Improved pension transfer times recorded

  11 February 2020

  Latest pension transfer data provided by Origo shows improvements in transfer times in 2019. The end-of-year data for the total Origo Transfer community showed a reduction in transfer times by 3.9% compared to 2018, down to 9.6 days. In addition, the latest data provided by the Origo Transfer Index (OTI), which measures the average time...

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  Guide to … SIPP types

  10 February 2020

  Greg Kingston, group communications director at Curtis Banks, looks at the different types of SIPP and the tactical and tax advantages of each. Today self invested personal pensions (SIPPs) are more popular than ever. Helped by the introduction of pension freedoms in 2015, SIPPs are favoured as a way of allowing individuals to have...

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  Proposed contingent charging ban – increased negative perception amongst advisers

  10 February 2020

  The view that the FCA’s proposed ban on contingent charging will reduce access to defined benefit transfer advice has increased amongst financial advisers, with four out of five advisers believing it will negatively effect access, according to Aegon. Research published by the retirement specialist showed 84% of the 227 advisers surveyed believe an end to contingent...

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  Join us at our Team Leader, Investment Committee and Technical Insight Seminars

  9 February 2020

  This year Professional Paraplanner is running three series of events around the country – our Team Leader, Investment Committee and Technical Insight Seminars give paraplanners access to experts in their fields and tackle issues and provide insights from the point of view of the paraplanner. These are paraplanner exclusive events.  At Thursday’s Professional Paraplanner Team Leader Seminar held...

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