Pensions News

Pensioners are in grave danger of missing out on the best annuity rates because of endless delays in transferring their funds, warns Steve Hunt, managing director of Rockingham Retirement, the UK’s largest wholly independent retirement income broker.

Lincoln Financial Group has revealed a recent uplift in enquiries for its flexible retirement product Lincoln i2Live. Recent market turbulence has had a severe affect on UK pension pots and the increase in enquiries of Lincoln i2Live show that people are now seeing the value of retirement products that can offer a level of security through an income guarantee option.

100 years after the first state pension was claimed, many of today's pensioners and people saving for retirement think the basic state pension would have to double in order to provide a comfortable retirement according to new research, from Friends Provident.

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at money website Fool.co.uk, comments on 100 years of the State Pension: "The State Pension, despite its many faults, continues to provide a useful safety net for many people in retirement.

Britain's biggest pensioner organisation – the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) – is using the anniversary of introduction of the first ever state pension to call on the government to eradicate today’s growing pensioner poverty.

UK defined contribution (DC) pension schemes should consider a more flexible approach to investment in 2009, particularly if they are employing unsuitable and underperforming legacy funds, says Fidelity International.

Norwich Union, part of Aviva, has returned £10m of unclaimed cash to its customers. This follows the announcement last year of Norwich Union's intention to return £40m of unclaimed assets to 40,000 customers.

IFAs seeking to enhance the portfolios of their income-poor pension investors, should consider budget hotel rooms as one component capable of boosting retirement savings within a tax efficient SIPP, reports Assetz.

SHIP (Safe Home Income Plans) - the trade body that represents 90% of regulated UK equity release providers - reveals that the average single pensioner relying on state pension will have £205.17 eroded from their 2008/09 financial year's income, making the £60 bonus to be paid January announced in Labour's pre-budget report seem derisory.

Pensioners are set for a £4 billion boost next year as the Government confirmed the biggest rise in the Basic State Pension since 2001 today, on top of £900m in Christmas Bonuses and a £575m increase in Winter Fuel Payments.

Skipton Building Society has backed calls for interested paid on savings accounts to be paid tax-free for UK pensioners.

Barclays Financial Planning announces the launch of two new pensions products, designed to offer an alternative to stakeholder pensions.

Maggie Craig, the ABI's Director of Life and Savings, said: "Our continuing work to simplify SIPP customer information, and further improve the customer experience through Treating Customers Fairly, has led to improvements across the pensions industry, and we are pleased the FSA has acknowledged this.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is taking action to improve the quality of advice given to customers to switch into a personal pension or self-invested personal pension (SIPP), following a review which found variable standards across a sample of 30 firms.

Over a third of Brits are resigning themselves to the fact that they will have to work either full or part time during their retirement to fund and maintain the lifestyle they want, according to research from Lincoln Financial Group.