Big news for pension planning – the government has confirmed it will change the minimum pension age to 57 from 2028 as Money Marketing reports.
I have seen a host of calls for much more information about various kinds of scheme especially DB schemes which have various contract terms locked in. There are concerns that the DC and DB regimes could diverge even more than now.
In other words, it may be a little more complicated than it first appears.
The move was first announced back in 2014 but the Government has not legislated for it as yet.
Now it has been confirmed as part of government plans by Treasury minister John Glen in response to a question from Work and Pensions select committee chair Stephen Timms, a former pension minister himself.
There is talk that by delaying people accessing their pensions, it could actually mean a tax hit for the Government at least initially.
The Daily Mail reports this as ‘retirement hopes dashed’ though I have seen some comments from IFAs suggesting that increasingly they don’t have many clients targeting 57. Also, we would note that it was already contained within the Government's plans.
For advisers worried that their clients may be asked to bear the cost of the COVID-19 crisis, three thinktanks are suggesting changes to pensions taxation. Paul Johnson of the IFS and Philip Booth at the Institute of Economic Affairs seem to be discussing cutting back on tax free cash.
It would not be a popular move among many advisers and there have even been suggestions that the move smacks of retrospective taxation.
In a similar vein, Romi Savova, chief executive of PensionBee, argues that tax free cash is leading pension savers astray and that the industry should stop promoting it.
She says that pension providers should intervene now. There is clearly scope for tension between advisers and providers if this became – in some way – part of standard communications.
Succession Wealth is consulting with its advisers on a new pay structure that will introduce a £250,000 annual revenue target for each planner, New Model Adviser reports.
That feels like a lot of pressure.
Lockdown and the increased use of technology have driven clients to seek shorter but more frequent contact with their advisers, a value of advice report from St James's Place has found.
The chief executive of LEBC Jack McVitie has died following a short illness. As FTAdviser reports, tributes have poured in. Jack took part in a panel discussion for me about four years ago on the topic of increasing the reach of advice to which he made an excellent contribution including making much of LEBC’s bionic advice offer. RIP Mr McVitie.
