Number of top rate taxpayers surges as frozen thresholds squeeze Brits April 29, 2026 The number of higher and additional rate taxpayers in the UK has soared since the start of the decade as frozen thresholds have dragged nearly two million into paying higher rates of tax despite not being classified as traditional high-paid professionals. According to the latest personal income statistics from HMRC covering the 2023/24 tax year, [...]
End of deadlock: Pension Schemes Bill to become law as government backs down April 29, 2026 The Pension Schemes Bill is set to become law after the House of Lords agreed to final watering down plans from the government, ending the long-standing deadlock between the two houses. The legislation had run into multiple walls amid consistent back and forth between the lower and upper house, after neither side refused to back [...]
Pension deadlock: Government and Lords refuse to back down in stalemate April 28, 2026 The government and the House of Lords are locked in a high-stakes political standoff over pensions, both refusing to back down on their demands for the Pension Schemes Bill, leaving its passage up in air as the clock winds down on this parliamentary session. Attempts to finalise the bill in the upper house remain ensnared [...]
Lib Dems vow to push back controversial Pension Schemes Bill April 24, 2026 The government has been warned that the Pension Schemes Bill will continue to be pushed back unless ministers remove controversial mandation powers, as a groundswell of opposition puts pressure on the government to water down the bill. The warning comes as the House of Commons gears up for the bill to bounce back from the [...]
The student loan rip-off is hitting women hardest April 24, 2026 Women already earn and save materially less than men – and a student loan system that, were it nay other credit product would amount to mis-selling, is making it worse, says Gina Miller Britain’s student loan system is one of the most quietly distortionary fiscal instruments on the statute book. It applies a nine per [...]
Pension ping pong: Now government backtracks on mandation powers April 22, 2026 The government has been forced to water down controversial mandation powers in the Pension Schemes Bill after prolonged uproar from the pensions industry and opposition MPs and peers. Pensions minister Torsten Bell has tried to push through the bill with a clause that gives ministers the power to force funds to invest in UK infrastructure [...]
Inside the fintech industry’s pensions gambit April 22, 2026 The fintech industry are on the offensive and in this week’s column Samuel Norman gives an insight into the sector’s lobbying calls for pension fund allocation. London has found itself brought to a halt this week. One may have thought the Tube strikes would bring Square Mile to a standstill, too. But the lack of [...]
Pension schemes need more carrot and less stick to back the UK April 20, 2026 The Pensions Bills Scheme will empower the government to tell pension schemes where to invest. But telling always ends badly.
Standard Life snaps up Aegon UK for £2bn to create savings giant April 15, 2026 Standard Life has snapped up the UK’s largest investment platform Aegon UK in a £2bn deal. The FTSE 100 giant – previously known as Phoenix Group – said the deal would create the UK’s top retirement savings and income business with near 16m customers and £480bn in assets under administration. Standard Life expects an annual [...]
Entrepreneurs’ livery company to host scale up showcase at London Stock Exchange April 14, 2026 Canada’s Worshipful Company of Entrepreneurs is set to host an investor showcase for scale-ups at the London Stock Exchange. The livery company, headed by former Lord Mayor Alastair King, aims to connect more than 120 investors with 14 of the UK’s most promising scale-up firms. In June, the group is set to [...]