Pensions News

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is reminding pension schemes that 2006/07 Pension Scheme Returns and Event Reports must be filed online by 31 January 2008.

In a recent press release, the ABI gave its support for Personal Accounts but only on the basis that they add to savings rather than undermine existing pension provision. This position is supported by consumer research carried out for Defaqto’s Retirement Savings & Income report 2007.

The changes to the current pension system in the Pensions Bill, including Personal Accounts, will not make a fundamental difference to pension saving rates, says Chris Gilchrist of EveryInvestor.

The Government has issued a consultation paper which will allow protected rights funds to be self-invested in future.

To encourage customers to elect to receive their annual pension statements online, Standard Life has pledged to plant a tree for each of the first 10,000 people to sign up to the initiative.

The closer people get to retirement the more they fear the impact of potential inflation movements on their retirement provision, according to figures from Alliance Trust Savings.

Today the Standard Life Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) celebrates 3 years of excellence since its launch on 6th December 2004. The award winning SIPP has attracted 41,700 customers with £7.1bn funds under management in its first three years.

Analysis of Defaqto data by Fidelity FundsNetwork, UK SIPP provider, has revealed that despite the post A-Day open-architecture environment, not all Self Invested Personal Pensions (‘SIPPs’) are truly open.

Older people will soon be able to get more help with rent and Council Tax bills without having to send off any forms, the DWP announced today.

Millions more people would benefit from a good workplace pension as a result of reforms in the Pensions Bill 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain said today.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) estimates that it needs to collect £675 million in pension protection levies in 2008-2009 – a figure unchanged from 2007-2008.

AXA Wealth Management has announced its enhanced individual pension proposition. AXAs Wealth Management pension propositions all allow for a Discretionary Trust option which is available across their Stakeholder, Personal Pension and Self Invested Pension wrappers.

Mercer has developed an innovative approach to savings that enables employees to distribute their combined employer and employee pension contributions between their pension plan and a general savings plan.

Friends Provident, the FTSE 100 life and pensions company, won two Gold Standard Awards at the Incisive Media Gold Standard Awards ceremony, held at the House of Commons.

People retiring in 2008 are giving up work early and majority are looking forward to a final salary pension scheme to fund them in retirement, according to a study from Prudential.