The last thing pension funds need is a state mandated investment strategy April 30, 2025 UK pension funds don’t have the capabilities to deliver a mandated 10 per cent minimum allocation to private assets, says Toby Glaysher By threatening to enforce a 10 per cent minimum allocation to private assets, the government risks turning the Mansion House reforms from a visionary ambition into a blunt instrument. The premise behind the [...]
Should I consolidate my pension pots? March 19, 2025 The UK is reckoning with a proliferation of small pension pots, which is increasing costs for providers and making retirement planning challenging for savers. The cheapest Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) providers According to research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies, in 2024 there were 12.1m defined contribution (DC) pension pots which held less than £1,000 [...]
Phoenix Group shares soar after upgrading outlooks March 17, 2025 Shares in Phoenix Group rallied over six per cent on Monday morning after the firm smashed its cash generation target and upgraded its future guidance. The FTSE 100 company, which owns insurer Standard Life, recorded a 31 per cent increase in operating profit for 2024, which hit £825m. The group met its 2026 target of [...]
PensionBee: Losses slashed as US expansion helps revenue surge March 13, 2025 PensionBee has hailed a “transformative year” for the listed business as it slashed its pre-tax loss and grew its revenue by almost £10m as it expanded into the US. The company has posted a pre-tax loss of £3.1m for 2024, down from the £10.5m loss it reported for 2023. New figures filed with the London [...]
Legal & General: FTSE 100 giant hikes shareholder returns after strong year March 12, 2025 Asset management and insurance giant Legal & General has reported a six per cent increase in core operating profit for 2024. Core operating profit hit £1.6bn and pre-tax profit under IFRS accounting standards stood at £542m. Off the back of these robust numbers Legal & General announced a £500m share buyback for 2025, as part [...]
Taxes might be going up. Here’s how to cut your tax bill March 10, 2025 Savers are preparing for the possibility of income tax increases, with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves expected to announce some changes to the tax regime in March. Labour pledged not to increase income tax during its election campaign. However, the Treasury has discussed freezing income tax thresholds and has refused to rule out income tax [...]
Royal London to share £181m of profits with customers March 7, 2025 Royal London’s profits soared last year and it’s planning to hand some of this back to customers. Pre-tax profit at the firm grew 11 per cent to £277m, compared to £249m in 2023, after the group bolstered new businesses and consolidated its consumer book. The group announced a profit share of £181m in its annual [...]
Why ISAs and pensions make a ‘perfect combination’ March 7, 2025 A key personal finance deadline is approaching. Savers with Individual Savings Accounts have until April 5 2025, to use their annual tax-free allowance, which shields up to £20,000 of savings in the 2024/25 tax year from tax on interest, capital gains or dividends linked to ISA investments. Last year, investment platform AJ Bell said that [...]
Pension death tax will punish millions of savers, says advisory firm March 5, 2025 Planned government changes to pension taxes must be dropped, according to City experts. Advisory firm Blick Rothenberg has slammed the move as a “poorly conceived policy change [that] penalises prudent savers and their loved ones through double taxation.” The pension reforms – announced in October’s Budget and set to kick in from April 2027 – [...]
UK savers back AI on pensions, but ‘not as a substitute for humans’ February 12, 2025 UK savers are open to artificial intelligence (AI) playing a key role in pension customer support. But, most would rather have a combination of AI and human interaction, rather than a fully automated system. A recent survey by pension scheme provider PensionBee found that of its 1,000 participants, 79 per cent favoured a hybrid approach. [...]