June 2018

If you’re covering the FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review and consultation on pension freedoms please see the following comment from Ian Browne, pensions expert at Old Mutual Wealth. Ian welcomes the possibility of default investment pathways and wake-up packs, but warns of the disastrous complexity of decoupling tax free cash. 

Today the Supreme Court ruled that a heterosexual couple can enter a civil partnership. Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Old Mutual Wealth, says this leaves the door open for other duos, such as siblings, to argue they are being discriminated against if they cannot enter a civil partnership.Civil partnerships, like marriages, offer legal and financial protection for both parties in the event of the relationship ending and benefits including inheritance, tax, pensions and next-of-kin arrangements. 

If you are covering the Housing, Communities and Local Government and Health and Social Care Committees' joint report which calls for a sustainable funding solution for adult social care, please find comment from Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert, Old Mutual Wealth, part of Quilter Plc:

If you are covering the Department for Work and Pensions’ consultation which sets out the different ways to improve The Pension Regulator's (TPR) powers and increase DB member protections, please find comment from Ian Browne, pensions expert Old Mutual Wealth, part of Quilter Plc:

If you are covering the report from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed on How to solve the self-employed pensions crisis, please find comment from Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Old Mutual Wealth, part of Quilter Plc:

If you’re covering the government’s response to the Work and Pensions Committee recommendations for pension freedoms please see the following comment from Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Old Mutual Wealth. He explains the risks of default drawdown and why NEST should be allowed to develop its own drawdown products. 

This morning Supreme Court justices rejected a landmark appeal by Pimlico Plumbers over the employment status of a plumber. The justices unanimously agreed that plumbing and heating engineer, Gary Smith, qualified as a ‘worker’ under employment law rather than a contractor.  

Figures from the ONS today revealed an unexpected decline in wage growth, which when coupled with the uptick in pension contribution rates, could lead to a decline in retirement savings.