April 2017
19Apr

BMW strike continues in the UK and Mini car production halts

Workers at three BMW plants in the UK are staging a one-day strike in a row over pensions. The walkout, the first by BMW staff in Britain, is part of a wave of stoppages at the carmaker over the closure of a final-salary pension scheme. The Unite union, which organised the action that has halted output of the Mini, called the strike a last resort and accused BMW of "pension robbery". BMW urged the union to return to the negotiating table. According to...

April 19, 2017
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18Apr

UK. Providers Take First Steps Towards Pension Dashboard

The government has challenged pension providers to build a fintech app that will revolutionise retirement planning by showing all a saver’s pensions in one online place. Pension dashboards are a way of urging retirement savers to put more money aside for when they give up work by helping them see just how much they have saved – and how much money they need for a comfortable retirement. According to official statistics, most workers will have at least 11 jobs during their...

April 18, 2017
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14Apr

UK Recognized overseas pension schemes notification list

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has temporarily suspended the ROPS notification list. It will return on Tuesday 18 April 2017. Pension schemes appear on the published list if their scheme managers have agreed to provide certain information to HMRC. They must agree to this undertaking for their scheme to be a qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (QROPS). Since 9 March 2017 scheme managers have been required to pay tax to HMRC on certain transfers. They had until 13 April 2017 to...

April 14, 2017
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13Apr

UK. Will LISA kill pensions?

The recently launched Lifetime ISA (LISA) is designed to help under 40s (18-39) purchase their first home or save for retirement. While I applaud the introduction of any tax-free saving platform that rewards savers with bonuses, I am not convinced this latest addition to the ISA portfolio, is as some describe, a credible alternative to pensions. Confusion There’s already confusion over the account’s purpose – is it for first-time-buyers or those wishing to save for retirement? Surely such contrasting savings aims...

April 13, 2017
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12Apr

The older expats facing poverty – thanks to Brexit and frozen pensions

Anne Puckridge isn’t scared for her future yet. But thanks to the post-Brexit fall in the value of the pound, that time may soon come. When the 93-year-old second world war veteran and lecturer moved to Canada in 2001, she expected to live in modest comfort on her UK pension. What she hadn’t realised, however, was that pension would be frozen at the amount it was worth at the time she moved to North America at the age of 76. “The...

April 12, 2017
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11Apr

UK Pensions minister: lifetime allowance is more than enough to retire on

The £1 million lifetime allowance (LTA) allows people to save four times what they need to reach an average retirement income, according to pensions minister Richard Harrington. Since 2011 the LTA has fallen from £1.8 million to its current level of £1 million. People who breach the £1 million limit over a lifetime face penalties of up to 55% when they receive their pension. The policy, which collected HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) £126 million for the 2015/16 tax tear according to...

April 11, 2017
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07Apr

UK Government consults on early exit charges and pension commission regulations

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation on draft regulations regarding the cap on early exit charges for occupational pension schemes and restrictions on member-borne commission payments. The consultation, which will run until 31 May 2017, seeks views on the draft Occupation Pension Schemes (Charges and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2017. These regulations would restrict early exit charges for members of workplace pension schemes to enable eligible members over the age of 55 to take advantage of the...

April 7, 2017
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06Apr

Lifetime Isa chaos: Fees could leave savers £60k worse off than pensions

The Government's Lifetime Isa scheme is in chaos as not a single high street bank is offering the accounts, amid fears it could result in a mis-selling scandal. Despite officially launching on April 6 just three providers have agreed to offer the accounts, one of which was last night accused of ripping off savers by charging "disturbingly" high fees. Daily Telegraph calculations reveal that the Share Centre's Lifetime Isa will leave savers as much as £60,000 worse off than they would...

April 6, 2017
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05Apr

Workers at BMW to stage series of strikes amid row over pensions

Workers at car giant BMW are to stage a series of eight 24-hour strikes from later this month in a dispute over pensions. Members of Unite will walk out at different locations from April 19 until May 24, following a huge vote in favour of industrial action. Unite said the strikes will “significantly disrupt” production of cars including the Mini. The union said closure of the BMW occupational pension scheme by the end of May could see some workers lose up to...

April 5, 2017
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03Apr

UK. Losing pension drives BMW workers to strike

UK workers employed at the BMW plants have voted to strike in a fight over pensions, the Unite union has announced. These workers employed for making Rolls-Royce and Mini engines are planning to strike as their final salary pension scheme is being closed. The union said the proposed order would mean that some UK workers "lose up to 160,000 in retirement income". Timeline 27 Sep 2016 BMW says come 2017 old pension schemes to close BMW, the German car giant announced its plans...

April 3, 2017
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