PRESS ARTICLES

Intelligent Pensions warns FSA to keep a close eye on third way

01 July 2008 Money Marketing

Intelligent Pensions has warned the Financial Services Authority needs to keep a close eye on how third way products are being recommended. More

Intelligent Pensions moves to 'financial hub'

13 March 2008 Financial Adviser

The income drawdown specialist bases itself in Glasgow’s financial district. More

Intelligent Pensions Announces Record Rise in Gross Revenue

20 November 2007 The Herald

Income drawdown specialist Intelligent Pensions has announced a record rise in gross revenue – up 55 per cent, from £1.4 million to £2.1 million – in its latest accounts. More

Retirement Confusion

30 August 2007 The Press and Journal

Thousands of savers have been blocked from finding out how much state pension they will get from the Government, leaving them unable to plan properly for retirement.More

Annuities answer

May 2007 CA Magazine

After changing the rules in the 2006 Finance Act to let pension investors defer buying an annuity beyond 75, the Treasury decided that it did not like the idea after all. Its solution is to introduce a swingeing tax charge, up to 82 per cent, on the pension fund on death in this year's act. More

Brown's tax raid is 'drop in the ocean next to DWP proposal'

12 April 2007 Money Marketing

The Chancellor's £5bn a year raid on pensions will be dwarfed by potential losses to pensioners if inflation protection is reduced in defined-benefit schemes, warns Standard Life head of pensions policy John Lawson. More

Deferred members face reduced incomes.

15 March 2007 Money Marketing

Cost-cutting proposals for defined-benefit pension schemes could see deferred members facing smaller incomes by halving the level of index-linking, warns Standard Life marketing technical manager Andy Tully. More

How secure is ASP?

03 March 2007 The Herald

My sister sadly passed away shortly after buying an annuity, and the insurance company kept all of her pension fund. I do not want to lose my pension fund in this way, as I am sure my son could do with the money. I have heard that I no longer have to buy an annuity at age 75, and that instead I can take out something called Alternatively Secured Pension. I like the idea of secure income without buying an annuity, so I think this Alternatively Secured Pension will be ideal for me. Please tell me more. More

Moving on after divorce

13 January 2007 The Herald

My husband and I are getting divorced. The children are grown up and apart from the house, which I intend to keep, we have various investments and my husband has a pension with his employer. What advice do I need to get a share of these assets? More

L&G claims legal backing for rights cash despite DWP ban

21 December 2006 Money Marketing

Legal & General is marketing the option of paying tax-free cash from safeguarded rights despite the Department for Work and Pensions saying this is not allowed. More

How Viable is an ASP?

16 December 2006 The Herald

I was 75 in May and decided to take advantage of Alternatively Secured Pension with my pension fund worth £300,000. This new option seemed ideal for me as I am in poor health and my wife is only 62. I understand that Gordon Brown has done a U-Turn, and that ASP is no longer going to be viable. What should I do? More

A Pension for my daughter,60.

18 November 2006 The Herald

I have been paying into a pension policy for my daughter who will be 60 next year. She gets no support from her husband from whom she separated five years ago. She is a low earner and will work till she is 65. I have been paying £2,808, the government contributes £400 (?) approx to each premium. The insurance company is Standard Life. Should I continue with this or would the money be better used to help her in another way? More

Stakeholder or SIPP?

07 October 2006 The Herald

I have paid into a Standard Life Stakeholder pension for four years, to top up my work pension, and it seems to be doing well. However, financial advisers now talk only about SIPPs, not Stakeholders. Should I change to a SIPP and why? Or does it just mean higher commission for the advisers? Also, if I stick to a Stakeholder, should I stay with Standard Life or is it better to spread the risk by starting a second with someone else? More

All change for drawdown investment strategies.

06 July 2006 Edinburgh Evening News

With the advent of Alternatively Secured Pension, or, as we prefer to call it, Extended Drawdown, clients in Drawdown plans will need to reconsider their investment portfolios within these plans. More

Whither Now For SIPPs?

11 December 2005 Scotland On Sunday

It is a welcome relief in many quarters that self-invested personal pension funds (SIPPs) will not after all be able to invest directly in residential property. The risks associated with such a strategy would have significantly outweighed the benefits. Inevitably it would all have ended in tears. More

Treating Customers Fairly? I Wish!

25 October 2005 Edinburgh Evening News

When I first came into the pensions profession we didn’t have a Financial Services Authority, and we didn’t have the computer systems which should enable Insurance Companies to provide an excellent service to their policyholders. We did, however, have a sense that the basic aim of pension plans was to pay out benefits to our customers, or in the unfortunate event of their death, to their dependants. More

The Complexity of Pension Simplification

10 September 2005 The Scotsman

Despite so-called pension simplification come A-Day next April, pensions have never been so complex. Far from simplifying matters, pensions simplification will actually make pensions more complex than ever. More

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