Following some months of speculation it has been announced that IFGL, which owns RL360°, will acquire FPIL (Friends Provident International Limited) from the Aviva Group, subject to regulatory approval.
9th March 2017 saw the final UK Spring Budget as the announcements now move to the Autumn. As ever there were a number of measures that will affect expats, including a surprise regarding pensions. This article is a brief overview of some of the main points with particular reference to any changes that have relevance to those living outside of the UK.
The rules regarding entitlement to the UK State Pension have just changed so if you are not fully aware of the changes, and how they might affect you, and studies show that few people are, you need to read on.
Anyone who has a SIPP or QROPS with Brooklands Trustees Limited will have received emails in the last few days which may have caused concern as it suggested that the company had gone into administration but I want to reassure everyone that there is no cause for concern.
All pensions funds are ring-fenced and protected by HMRC rules. There is no risk to anyone’s pension and this affects the management company of the pension scheme but NOT the underlying investment funds which are with another company.
The role of a Pensioneer Trustee and Pensions Administrator is highly regulated and under UK law, under which Brooklands operates, all interested parties must be notified of any changes to the company structure. They are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which has to approve any changes.
It has now been announced that Heritage Pensions Ltd are purchasing Brooklands Trustees Ltd and so it will be “business as usual” and the transfer of administrators has been approved by the FCA.
I would reiterate that there is no cause for concern, no risk to anyone’s pension and I have every confidence that all we will see is a new name on some paperwork. Such things happen but all the safeguards are in place to ensure that no client of investor loses out. I have a SIPP with Brooklands myself and have zero concerns.
I am currently on vacation, with limited internet access, but will be in touch with clients shortly after my return.
For specific queries please email me at keren@holbornassets.com but please bear in mind that I am unable to answer immediately at the moment.
It has now been a few weeks since the results of the UK’s referendum relating to the EU and as the dust starts to settle we may have a little more idea of the long terms effects. I am always reluctant to make any kind of financial prediction, especially with such an unknown political landscape, but I think it would be useful to cover a few topics that may affect many people on a personal financial level.
For most of us living longer is one of the benefits of modern life but has it occurred to you that this can also be a problem?
This means is that you may last longer than your savings. As it becomes a reality for many people, this is something we really need to talk about, especially as a recent report claims that old age starts at age 74.
On 6th April of this year some significant changes in the world of UK pensions came into force. This will affect most UK pension holders so it’s important to be aware of how this could impact on your pension and retirement planning. This is a complicated topic, and admittedly not the most exciting, so this article aims to give an overview of the main points.
This is an inflammatory title but sometimes it’s important to get people’s attention and a reaction. The plain fact is that the vast majority of people are woefully underprepared for retirement and are simply not saving enough for their later years. And if you don’t deal with the matter, who will?
Over the past year or so both HSBC International and Scottish Widows, part of the UK based Lloyds Banking Group, have released the results of surveys that show the parlous state of people’s retirement planning. The surveys make worrying reading and at the risk of sounding dramatic the situation is now a time bomb.
Too many people bury their head in the sand when it comes to planning for their financial future. In this article I want to look at some of the issues that you really cannot afford to ignore. When I use the term ‘pension’ I am referring to any kind of investment being used as retirement provision, rather than just traditional plans and as expats such arrangement are rarely available to us.
The facts are that most people are facing a significant shortfall in their retirement income, According to the Association of British Insurers, the average UK pension pot at retirement is less than £40,000. In the US, the Employee Benefit Research Institute has calculated that 46% of all American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement and 29% of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement. Worrying figures indeed.
If you want to ensure you have enough money to live comfortably when you retire, here is my list of the top 10 pension mistakes to avoid.
I’m not one for scaremongering, but for once there is a genuine deadline to take action for people in certain UK pension arrangements. If you are an expat with a UK occupational pension, often known as a Final Salary scheme, then you need to be aware of these changes.