simon, Author at QROPS New Zealand

FCA advice for final salary pension transfers to QROPS

Posted on September 13, 2018June 14, 2019 by simon

Every final salary pension transfer over £30,000 needs FCA advice [su_dropcap style="default" size="3" class=""]B[/su_dropcap]ack in 2016 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) made it complusory for anyone wishing to transfer a final salary pension scheme where the transfer value was over £30,000 to obtain FCA advice. Over time the FCA have...Read More

Siege mentality of UK pension providers making transfers hard

Posted on March 29, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

UK pension providers appear to be grinding slowly to a halt on all pension transfers as walls go up and a seige mentality grips them. Emboldened by UK regulators effectively stating “that money in UK pensions should stay in UK pensions”, UK providers are throwing up as many roadblocks as...Read More

People vote for control: The Great British pensions cash out

Posted on March 12, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

People of all ages are getting out of their final salary and defined benefit pensions in the UK, and the numbers are unprecedented. Spurred on by massive pension valuations, attractive incentives, failing companies and flexible access 80,000 people transferred last year, and 120,000 are estimated to follow this year. ...Read More

UK pension administrator claim pension Transfer Values steadily falling

Posted on March 8, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

Xafinity1 produce a monthly pension transfer value index, where it’s actuaries (read smart math’s people) calculate what the value of someone’s pension would be worth if they were to transfer it out. The Xafinity Transfer Value Index tracks the transfer value for a final salary scheme to a 64...Read More

Taking Control Part 1: A few numbers rule your retirement

Posted on February 28, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

We are writing about control, because we spend much of our lives faced with things that are out of our control. Governments make decisions we have no say in, traffic congestion, the cost of fuel, the weather…the list goes on and on. Recently we’ve talked of the...Read More

UK expats and returning Kiwis advised to transfer personal pensions before Brexit

Posted on February 26, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

British expats and Kiwis who’ve left their personal pension back in the UK are being advised to transfer it before Brexit kicks in. The advice is aimed not just at UK expats already living in New Zealand, but also to those planning to emigrate in the near future. ...Read More

Advisers scamming NZ and OZ based UK pension holders

Posted on February 22, 2018June 14, 2019 by simon

For years the New Zealand regulator has been building a strong regulatory regime to protect people from bad advice and worse investments. One of the first principles in this protection is a ban on cold calls selling financial services. A second principle is giving a fair and balanced view...Read More

Huge pension fund deficits are a global crisis in waiting

Posted on February 20, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

Ania Zalewska, University of Bath In the past decade, the banking industry has been a central focus of attention for regulators, academics and the general public. The 2007-08 financial crisis led to new regulations and institutions to keep things in check. In contrast, the issues of the pension industry...Read More

Now harder than ever to transfer a UK pension

Posted on February 9, 2018October 1, 2018 by simon

It's never been harder to transfer a UK pension to New Zealand. Over the last three years UK government agencies have put up consistent barriers to stop the outflows of UK pensions to overseas schemes (QROPS). Some barriers have been direct, like the shutting down of pension transfers out of...Read More

Theresa May’s election shambles save UK final salary pension holders

Posted on July 9, 2017October 1, 2018 by simon

The Conservative government had sought to address the burden of pension commitments in its election manifesto, with a plan to decouple annual rises in pensions from inflation from 2020. But when the election returned a minority government for May propped up by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists, the commitment was abandoned.