All Steve Webb articles – Page 5
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NewsCritics rebuke Hancock's 'narrow' NHS pension consultation
The British Medical Association poured cold water on the government’s NHS pension consultation on Monday, criticising its proposal of '50:50' accrual as too narrow and calling for the annual and tapered allowance to be scrapped altogether.
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NewsFCA's move to shrink IFA market poses trustee challenges
The Financial Conduct Authority defended its increase to the compensation limit on Wednesday, accepting that the financial advice market was shrinking but reaffirming that it will help protect consumers.
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Govt admits its pension forecasts have ‘significant’ inaccuracies
Pensions minister Guy Opperman was forced to admit “significant” problems with inaccurate state pension forecasting on Tuesday, raising fears hundreds of thousands of pensioners could be paid less than forecast.
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Housing secretary: Let young people raid pension pots for housing
Young people should have access to pension pots to help fund the deposit for their first home, housing secretary James Brokenshire said on Monday, raising the prospect of a rewrite of the UK’s pension rules.
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Ministers mulling 50/50 solution for NHS scheme
On the go: The chancellor and health secretary are reportedly considering introducing greater flexibility to the NHS pension scheme, in a bid to stave off a wave of early retirements without changing tax rules.
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Scrap ‘rotten’ taper altogether, former pensions ministers tell chancellor
Pressure is mounting on the chancellor to take action on NHS pensions, as two former pensions ministers on Wednesday called for the “fundamentally rotten” tapered annual allowance to be scrapped.
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Government gives green light to CDC schemes, but questions remain
The government has given the go-ahead to collective defined contribution schemes, but experts say its consultation response has left a number of issues unaddressed.
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Pensions cold-calling bill passes through Parliament
On the go: Pensions cold-calling will finally be banned from January, after a string of delays in legislating against what has been a scourge of UK savers.
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Savers unfazed by AE contribution rises
Auto-enrolment savers have proved indifferent to a rise in their contribution rates imposed earlier this year, according to research, but the government remains unconvinced by the case for using inertia to tackle low self-employed saving rates.
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DWP maintains £10,000 earnings threshold for 2019-2020
On the go: The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that the earnings threshold for auto-enrolment into a workplace pension is to be frozen at £10,000 for 2019-2020.
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NewsNo-deal Brexit a possibility as McVey and others quit
Esther McVey has resigned as secretary of state for work and pensions amid a raft of cabinet resignations, raising speculation about the impact of a no-deal Brexit on the pensions sector.
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Half of today’s over-40s are retirement savvy
On the go: Encouragingly, half of the over-40s in the UK have sufficient basic knowledge of the factors that may influence their later-life income to avoid the worst retirement pitfalls. However, one in 14 people are at high risk of making poor financial choices.
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Pension savers overtaxed by 'staggering' £372.5m
On the go: The government faces growing pressure to review ‘emergency tax’ treatment of pension freedoms withdrawals, after it was revealed that a staggering £372.5m has now been reclaimed by pension savers since the freedoms were launched in April 2015.
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OpinionDB transfers: Is your pension fund at risk of paying out too much?
When it comes to defined benefit transfers, it is important to focus on striking a balance between being fair to members transferring out and the majority who are left behind, says Royal London’s Steve Webb.
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UK pension system still lagging on adequacy and sustainability
The UK pensions system has major shortcomings in its adequacy and sustainability, and could be improved by rowing back some of freedom and choice, according to research comparing retirement provision around the globe.
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Employers support pension tax relief reform
The majority of employers think that the existing pension tax structure is too complicated and needs simplifying, according to research by the Association of Consulting Actuaries.
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Providers say retirement defaults could help poorer pensioners
Research highlighting the increasingly complex financial decisions and lower levels of income facing the next generation of retirees has led to renewed calls for default pathways through retirement.
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Handful of schemes in advanced talks with Pension SuperFund
The Pension Superfund has engaged in serious dialogue with approximately a dozen pension schemes with a view to them transferring into the defined benefit consolidator, according to its new chief executive.
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OpinionTrustees must not shirk responsibility on DB transfers
From the blog: The Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund has, in common with many other defined benefit pension schemes, seen a significant increase in transfers out of the fund since the introduction of pensions freedoms introduced three years ago under the then pensions minister, Steve Webb.
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Opinion
Advertising transfer values: trustee duty or danger to members?
When trustees at the Rexam Pension Plan noticed a substantial spike in defined benefit transfers out of the scheme last year, it seemed like good news.