Pensions

Brits need to take more responsibility for retirement planning

Nick Scarrett, head of investment and pensions at Fair Investment Company, comments on the changes to pensions as a result of the Emergency Budget.

Pensions - a good alternative to CTFs

Following the coalition Government's decision to stop Child Trust Fund accounts being opened from January 2011, Shelagh Hamer, pension specialist at NFU Mutual, explains why pensions could be a good alternative for investing in a child's future.

Scrapping compulsory annuity is a very positive move

Nick Scarrett, Head of Pension and Investment at Fair Investment Company, comments on the Government's decision to abolish rules that force pension savers to buy an annuity at 75, pushing it up to 77 with immediate effect and scrapping it completely from 2011.

Default Retirement Age 'phase out' a wake up call to savers

With the new coalition Government's plans to phase out the Default Retirement Age (DRA) Friends Provident is stressing the need for savers in the UK to start planning ahead or face working into their seventies.

Over a third of women face retirement poverty

More than a third of women (35 per cent) planning to retire in 2010 will receive an income which is below the poverty line - £14,000 a year or less - according to the latest findings from Prudential's Class of 2010 retirement survey.

Brits with a pension admit they don’t know where it is invested

Almost a third (32%) of British consumers with a pension admit that they don't know where it is invested, according to latest research from Standard Life.

Brits choose cars over savings

According to the latest research from Standard Life, only 46% of consumers ‘care' about their pension, but over half (54%) ‘care' for their car. The average cost of a used car sold in March this year was just £5,791, a very small figure when compared to something that could safeguard your financial future.

Protect your lifestyle in retirement against rising costs

Escalating annuities protect your lifestyle in retirement against rising costs, research from the Saga Annuity Service reveals. A person who took an escalating annuity out in 1995 would now receive on average £614 more a year compared to someone who had opted for a fixed version.

Parents urge kids to climb the pensions ladder

Recession-weary parents are warning their children not to pin all their financial hopes on property - they are now urging them to climb the pensions ladder too.

Scottish Widows - increase to state pension age

Ian Naismith, Head of Pensions Market Development comments: "We believe that the indication from the Government that the state pension age will rise more quickly than previously planned is a positive move.

Saga annuity customers are approaching £2m better off

Saga has announced that customers who have taken out an annuity with the Saga Annuity Service since its launch at the end of last year, will together benefit from almost £2 million more income than they would have done if they had remained with their existing pension provider.