...in which Catriona McInally of M&G Wealth and I discuss Consumer Duty, Lifestyle planning, vulnerable customers, segmentation, ponies and the Scottish Highlands

James Slevin of Target (targetprofessional.co.uk) joins me to discuss the challenges of pension scheme data management, the pension dashboard, member identification and...how to get a false passport...

What should have been simple has proved to be anything but; HMRC has created a new way to inflict misery on unsuspecting pension savers. Jon Greer from Quilter gently explains everything we need to know. We also discuss what a new Labour government might do with the rules.

Adrian Boulding makes a compelling case, not just why CDC schemes are a good idea but also, crucially how they are actually going to happen

Tom Selby and I unpick the political, fiscal and personal finance fun and games of the Budget

In which Robert and Charlie from Money Guided talk about how to help people manage their money better

Andrew Tully from Nucleus on why we need a long-term savings commission

...in Which Dave Henderson of Penny https://pennypension.com and I offer a couple of suggestions for how to make pension transfers work better

...in which Gregg talks to me about pension investments in infrastructure and politics from the viewpoint of an ex-shadow pensions minister.

The FCA's proposed solutions and consultation questions analysed with expert help from Nathan Long of Hargreaves Lansdown and Michael Lawrence of Bovill. You can also read Michael's thoughts here Advice Guidance Boundary Review puts transformative change on horizon - Bovill

Richard Smith gives the expert's view on where we're at with the development of pension dashboards, drawing on years of experience in the UK and fresh insights from across Europe. 

Andy Tully joins me to talk through the Nucleus research on retirement confidence; who's confident, who isn't and the factors that affect confidence. Clue: it's really important to have a plan...

The excellent Nathan Long of Hargreaves Lansdown talks through with me the Government's pension review, retirement adequacy and its complexities, financial resilience and the work they've done tracking it and we finish with a look ahead to the Budget on 30th October. 

HL Savings and Resilience Barometer | July 2024 | HL

Another big week for pensions policy, James Dowling helps me pick out the highlights.

Tom Selby of AJ Bell helps me try and make sense of the mother of all reshuffles and we make some moderately well-informed predictions about the forthcoming Autumn Statement

What's happening with the FCA's review of advice and guidance and where might it take us? We're expecting an announcement in the near future; in the meantime, expert insight is provided by Michael Lawrence of Bovill | financial services regulatory consultancy in UK, Asia & Americas and Nathan Long of Hargreaves Lansdown | ISAs, pensions, funds and shares (hl.co.uk).

'...the most bruising quarter we've ever seen for advised platforms', was how my colleague Rich described the latest update on platforms. So here we talk through what's going on...

As part of the solution to the small pots problem, the DWP is interested in Pot for Life. This has worked well in Australia and could lead to Auto-enrolment 2.0. This episode looks at what it is, how it could work and some of the challenges that would need to be dealt with.

A quick review of some of the highlights from the multiple policy papers on pension reform published by the government this week.

A quick roundup of expected pensions policy announcements, a run through of the FCA's retirement advice review and the ongoing problems with pension transfers

Investing in the Future: Boosting Savings and Prosperity for the UK (institute.global)

https://open.substack.com/pub/craigberry/p/is-it-time-to-let-the-pension-investment?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

https://open.substack.com/pub/craigberry/p/is-it-time-to-let-the-pension-investment-1f4?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web 

What are Labour's plans for pensions and are we going to see a big bang scheme consolidation initiative? Tom Frackowiak from Cicero joins me to discuss these questions and also to talk about the alternative reality of political party conferences.

AJ Bell are lobbying for a radical simplification of ISAs. Tom Selby explains why, and how it could work. You can also read more about it here AJ Bell calls for ISA overhaul in radical simplification of UK savings system | AJ Bell

Stuart McDonald of LCP takes us on a brilliant canter through what's happening with life expectancy and longevity and the implications for pension provision.

Link to Stuart's report, referenced in the podcast: https://www.lcp.uk.com/pensions-benefits/publications/longevity-report-2023-a-new-era-for-longevity-insights-to-tailor-your-journey/

Mike Ambery from Standard Life joins me to talk about what the new government is up to and what he learned on his recent research trip to Australia

Mike Barrett and I explore the barriers to people getting more financial advice and we look at hybrid advice with Chet Velani of EV.

You can download Mike's report here ADVICE GAP REPORT - the lang cat (langcatfinancial.co.uk)

The FCA is looking at Equity Release advice this year, as part of its retirement advice review. Jon Dunckley has written an independent review of the Equity Release market, looking at how the sector can evolve from here…

...in which my colleague Alison Gay explains why the FCA is consulting on SMCR; she also reveals a handy hack for consultation responses and we discuss PIMFAs recent suggestions for rethinking the disclosures regime.

Not one but two really knowledgeable and thoughtful individuals join me to reflect on workplace pension reforms: Philip Brown of the People's Pension and Nathan Long of Hargreaves Lansdown. 

Pension Dashboards are delayed, the government still doesn’t know what to do about small pots and people aren’t engaging with their pensions. Fintech and pensions expert Dave Henderson of Penny pensions and I discuss whether or not everything is fine…

A follow up Budget episode, digging into some of the financial planning questions thrown up by Jeremy Hunt's changes with the help of Alice Guy from Interactive Investor

Unpicking the Budget pensions announcements with Tom Selby from AJ Bell

Andrew Tully of Canada Life joins me to discuss the FCA's retirement income thematic review; the forthcoming Budget and what it might mean for pensions; and a bit of a reflection on what a Labour government could mean.

The Pensions Policy Institute has produced a brilliant analysis of the UK's pensions system, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of dozens of underlying components, and the trade-offs across the competing high-level objectives.

One of the few real product innovations post pension freedom is Just's Secure Lifetime Income. Peter Ellis talks to me about how it works and about the FCA's latest post-pension freedom regulatory review

The 2024 Advice Gap report is the definitive guide to the advice market, the dynamics of the sector and the impact of the FCA's Consumer Duty. Co-author and colleague Mike Barrett is here to explain all. You can download a copy of the report here The Advice Gap 2024 - The Lang Cat

Right at the end of 2022, I recorded this conversation with Jim Boyd, the CEO of the Equity Release Council. We talk about the role of housing wealth in later life, regulation, the state of the market and what needs to change.

Everyone in the industry wants to stamp out scams and fraud, however the delays in transferring customers' money are themselves costing everyone a lot of time and money. Phil Warner from Hargreaves Lansdown talks through the issues (NB apologies for the sub-optimal sound quality on this episode)

Corporate Adviser editor and award-winning journalist John Greenwood and I talk about some of the highlights of 2022, including the problem with net-zero; price caps and illiquid investments and consolidation. We also take a look at 2023, decumulation and whether early access to pensions is a good idea.

Futurologist Eleanor Winton talks about how businesses can plan for future disruption and uncertainties. We also talk about the work we did with Parmenion to anticipate the world of financial advice in 2030.

We cover recent inquiries on pension freedom and saving for retirement; the stronger nudge and increasing take-up of guidance; preventing pension scams; how to build on auto-enrolment; the current inquiry on LDI investing and forthcoming work on DB pensions.

Now the dust has settled, Steven Cameron and I revisit the Autumn Statement, the state pension, social care and the in-trays for the new Pensions and Treasury Ministers

Joe Dabrowski from the PLSA on pensions in the Autumn statement, retirement living standards, 5 steps for pension reform and pension scheme consolidation.

This episode explores whether CDC could be the solution to the retirement income challenges posed by pension freedom. Simon Eagle explains how and why he thinks it could work.

Defined Benefit pensions, LDI, regulatory failure and the real-world consequences of pension tax policy on the NHS

This isn't about DB scheme LDI strategies because that would be boring. Instead Nathan Long and I talk about politics, pension tax reform (again), annuities rate rises and investment losses and the tantalising possibility of regulatory reform

Michael Johnson sets out a radical and thought-provoking vision for reform of the UK's state, workplace and individual pensions, with a view to simplicity and long-term sustainability. Pensions: a vision for the future - Social Market Foundation. (smf.co.uk)

There's a lot packed into this 40 minute conversation with Guy: He talks about Pension Awareness Week; the Midlife MOT; Pension Dashboards; consolidation of pots, pensions and regulators; the role of trustees; Value for Money; Pension Freedom and decumulation; and he talks about Pension Credit. He's also not shy with his praise and his criticism.

This is the big one, clear the diary, wrap a wet towel round your head and get to grips with the Consumer Duty. In this episode, Mike Barrett and I discuss the key challenges and how firms can survive and thrive in this new world order.

Links:

PS22/9: A new Consumer Duty (fca.org.uk)

FG22/5: Final non-Handbook Guidance for firms on the Consumer Duty (fca.org.uk)

If you want a perspective on UK pension provision and policy from someone who has spent time working on other pension systems around the world, Jamie Jenkins from Royal London is your man. We talk here mostly about UK pensions but with some interesting insights from others' experieneces.

Many in the industry, myself included, have worried the advice/guidance boundary prevents businesses from helping their customers. With the help of Ian Beestin of Money Alive and Philip Hodges of Guiide, this episode explores how Guidance can in fact work within the current framework.

Guiide the Happy Retirement Designer

Risk Management Via Video Engagement - Money Alive