Steve Webb became the coalition Government’s pensions minister after winning his seat for the Lib Dems at Thornbury & Yate at the 2010 General Election and since then he has trail-blazed his way through the entire UK pensions system, writes Mark Soper.

Traditionally, our home has represented the asset that we could pass down to our children. It’s probably time to forget that, writes Tony Watts OBE The last few years have seen a sea change in the way we regard our homes. Yes, they have always represented one of the biggest financial achievements we aspired to […]

How can we make use of our biggest asset to make our retirement comfortable and enjoyable? By Tony Watts OBE. It would be nice to think that we will have enough coming in through our pensions to keep us comfortable in retirement. Alternatively, that we will have capital put aside to get by. But, for […]

You would have needed to be on the moon to avoid all the news about the radical pension changes that have been announced over the last few months! With further changes announced in the Autumn Statement the new pensions landscape from next April whilst ultimately far more flexible is also a lot more complex, writes […]

…so let’s get our heads around flexible working… and self employment. Major shifts in demographics are changing the way we look upon retirement, writes Tony Watts OBE. So what are the implications for our financial plans? I was part of a stimulating two-day gathering recently in London where several hundred people discussed the concept that […]

The new pension flexibility first announced in this year’s Budget was seen as a game changer by many in the pensions industry, yet the change in the rules only impact DC (Defined Contribution) pension arrangements such as Personal Pension Plans, Money Purchase Occupational Pensions and Stakeholder Pension plans. This creates a dilemma for some approaching […]

While the economists and politicians may disagree as to what lies ahead for our economy, the nation’s army of older people are basing their retirement plans on steady returns and low inflation and interest rates… with almost a third contemplating downsizing. Read more from Tony Watts OBE:

A Telegraph headline this week – “Take your mortgage to the grave” – simply articulated what has been obvious for some time now, writes Tony Watts OBE. Huge numbers of people in their 50s, 60s and beyond may well have assets in the form of a house and pension, but they are also carrying significant amounts […]

Since the Chancellor’s statement abolishing the so called ”death tax” on pension drawdown plans there has been much conjecture and some confusion as to the tax treatment of benefits arising on death under different types of plan.  We hope the following table clears up some of the confusion – however we must stress that the detail given is based on the tax regulations […]

George Osborne’s announcement removing the so called ”death tax” on SIPP Drawdown Plans builds further on the new flexibility and options announced in this year’s Budget and brings into sharper focus the relative merits of Drawdown and ISAs when planning for retirement, writes Mark Soper.