Supreme Court pension ruling on rights of unmarried couples
The Supreme Court yesterday decided that an unmarried cohabitant partner was entitled to receive a survivor’s pension from her deceased partner’s pension scheme. This decision could have a significant knock-on effect on the rules of many UK pension schemes. The case concerned Denise Brewster and William McMullan who, having been together for 10 years, had […]
Defined contribution scheme members outnumber defined benefit for the first time
The number of members of defined contribution pension schemes has overtaken defined benefit scheme members for the first time. This is according to a new report by The Pensions Regulator. The Pensions Regulator (TPR)’s annual DC Trust report illustrates the impact of automatic enrolment with defined contribution (DC) schemes becoming the dominant form of pensions […]
At-retirement financial advice in the workplace
The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published “At-retirement financial advice in the workplace”, a report exploring employer reactions to two new initiatives being considered by the Treasury. As you may be aware, the Treasury is currently considering: • Increasing the tax exemption around employer-arranged pensions advice from £150 to £500 • Introducing a Pensions Advice […]
Lifetime Allowance Reduced from 6th April
When George Osborne, the chancellor, announced the reduction in the lifetime allowance last year, he claimed just 4% of the wealthiest savers would be affected. The lifetime allowance is effectively how much you can have in pension schemes without paying extra tax when you withdraw your benefits. Last week this reduced from £1.25 million to […]