Sipps can hold protected rights from October, announces O'Brien
27/06/2008
Investors will have more choice from October following changes to pensions rules allowing protected rights to be held in Self-Invested Personal Pensions (Sipps), Minister for Pensions Reform Mike O'Brien announced today (27 June 2008).
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Fight goes on for women's pension rights
Regular MT readers will know that Lib Dem MP Steve Webb has been battling for better pension rights for women - here he reports how our readers are helping to bring about improvements for all.
Court of Appeal pensions test case: "damning verdict against the Government"
Three Court of Appeal judges have delivered a crushing verdict against the Government on their treatment of 125,000 people who were misled about the safety of their pensions. The Secretary of State's appeal against last year's High Court judicial review ruling that 'no reasonable Secretary of State could rationally disagree' with the Ombudsman, was dismissed.
More closures for pension schemes predicted
The latest annual survey of UK pensions schemes by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has revealed that, despite a new equilibrium after many years of change, more final-salary pension schemes are likely to close to new members in the next five years.
Are you claiming all the benefits you are due?
Billions of pounds in benefits go unclaimed each year by older people - often because the “system” seems confusing and demeaning. MT‘s “Benefits Doctor” Lee Healey is here to help!
Pension alert over Christmas
Help The Aged has warned that thousands of older people may struggle to get hold of their weekly pension over the Christmas period because of a payment decision by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
People who collect their pension from the local post office will only have until 12.30pm on Christmas Eve (December 24th) to collect their payments instead of the usual Monday to Wednesday.
£26 million pensioner benefits blunder - but they can keep the money
The Department of Work and pensions (DWP) has revealed that it has paid out £26 million of taxpayers' money to elderly disabled pensioners in a benefits blunder. The Government has said that "because the recipients are elderly and disabled" they will not have to pay it back... but is this as generous as it sounds?
UK State Pensioners are the poorest in Europe
New research shows that an average worker retiring this year will receive a State pension worth just 17% of their salary, compared with an EU average of 57%. However, Pensions reform minister, Mike O'Brien, defends the UK system.
Pensions legislation has a nasty sting in the tail
Well off retired Brits who do not take available tax free cash or income from what they consider to be surplus pension funds, could inadvertently be lining the Treasury’s pockets - simply by not being aware of and guarding against Gordon Brown's new taxes, of up to 82%, on residual Alternatively Secured Pension (ASP) funds on death.
Money's too tight to pension
New research has shown that over 1.5 million of those aged 55 and over simply can’t afford to retire, and one in four (26%) say that as things currently stand they will retire later than the current state retirement age - 65 for a man and 60 for a woman.
UK pensioners "scrimping to survive"
New research shows that the majority of over 60s are scrimping on food, clothes and heating to survive on under £10,000 a year.
Women urged to claim their missing state pension rights: it's "buried treasure with their name on it"
An MP is calling on around half a million women in their sixties to investigate whether they could qualify for a little-publicised Government scheme to fill gaps in their pension record and get a significant backdated boost to their state pension.
Pensions not Poverty - petition drop at Number 10
On Monday 1st October, 2007, International Day of Older People, a delegation from the UK and Overseas took a ‘Pensions not Poverty’ petition to 10 Downing Street. The petition forms part of the ‘Pensions not Poverty’ campaign calling for social pensions in developing countries, and forms part of Age Demands Action, a global effort to improve the situation of older people around the world.
Government shamed by Lords backing for private pensioners
Pensions campaigners who were driven to stripping naked last week outside the Houses of Parliament in a desperate attempt to draw attention to their plight, have been buoyed by House of Lords introducing an amendment to the Pensions Bill for higher payouts from the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS).
“Low-income pensioners deserve better”
A new report has concluded that pensioners on low incomes do not receive the help from HM Revenue & Customs that they deserve and - as a consequence - too many mistakes are made which mean that they pay too much tax.
