Retirement
Retirement | 8 Jun 16
Over-55s still unclear about pensions freedoms
Nearly half (43%) of over-55s in the UK do not understand the financial options available to them more than a year after the government introduced the pension freedoms, with 15% admitting to having no understanding at all.
Retirement | 8 Jun 16
Brit buries £850k inheritance, Royal Mint open to pensions
The UK’s Royal Mint has opened its doors for the first time to savers looking to buy gold bars as part of their pension plan, though one brokerage firm has revealed that a British pensioner preferred to bury £850,000 ($1.2m, €1.09m) worth of gold in his back garden.
Retirement | 3 Jun 16
Watchdog tells wrongly-advised client to pay £1,700 exit fee
A decision by Friends Life to charge a client a £1,700 exit fee for transferring a planned pension has been upheld by the UK’s Pensions Ombudsman Service (POS), despite being wrongly advised by her IFA.
Best Practice | 2 Jun 16
Better investor defences may fill advice gap – Axa’s Willoughby
Some form of state-provided consumer protection covering financial products is needed to overcome the “advice gap” in the UK, says Simon Willoughby, head of Proposition for Axa Wealth International.
Brexit vote unlikely to hit financial advisers in short term
Political and economic uncertainty surrounds the outcome of the UK referendum on 23 June, but the initial impact on the business of financial advisers, even if there is a vote to leave, could take some time to be felt, according to industry observers.