Is Financial Services like gun crime?

Here in the UK we have some gun crime, its horrible, but it is still thankfully rare. In North America the obession with guns is perplexing, the rising death toll and increasing militarisation of police forces is alarming. We have seen further mishandling and stereotyping lead to deaths in police custody and now further riots in some American cities. I’m not anti-police, I am anti-stupidity and I don’t think I’m telling you anything you don’t already know. America has almost no gun control, you can wander into a gun store or general department store (heck, sometimes they even give them away for opening a bank account -see Bowling for Columbine) and buy a firearm and ammunition. No real checks. We tend to think this is insane.

Yet here in the UK we have an equally perplexing situation which has collectively blind-sided most people. Its in the form of pension advice. Yes that rather dull topic (believe me I know how dull). Anyway it seems that your neighbour – the one that’s tempted by all those offers of too good to be true (because it isn’t true) high investment returns is wreaking havoc with the rest of us, like a loaded gun.

Garbage in, garbage out..

Despite warnings from the regulator, or there being a regulator, believe it or not, there are some “advisers” out there peddling all sorts of… well…”junk”. These always promise high returns, but actually pay high commission (something that is meant to be banned). So I can only assume that the person that does this is greedy, gullable or vulnerable. If the latter, then they have my sympathy and support, but those that are gullable, well it may sound harsh, but at some point in life you have to take some responsibility for your actions. As for the greedy… why should the rest of us pay for your gambling habit? eh?

Back to the gun analogy. Say I am a shop keeper, I don’t sell guns, in fact I sell books, but the guy nextdoor does. Guess what? his customer went on a rampage in the mall and shot 60 people. Being a shopkeeper I am sent a bill for compensation because I am a shop keeper.

What do I mean? Well pensions are regulated products and in theory should be arranged by regulated advisers. However in some products (SIPPs – Self Invested Personal Pensions) you can hold “uncoventional” funds… or what I might call “stuff you shouldn’t ever touch”. The regulator (FCA) would call this “non-mainstream funds” and in fact categorise them as “unregulated” in other words not regulated and therefore not actually protected by compensation. However because they were bought through a SIPP (regulated) and arranged by an adviser (regulated) therefore when it predictably goes wrong (it will) anyone that is an adviser gets to pay for the compensation. Now I don’t know about you, but I thought being an adult involved taking responsibility for your actions, so being one, I don’t sue people every time decisions I take don’t work out right.

Yes inflation is 0% but fees increase 75%

I tell you this because on top of a £20million levy a few days ago in March, the new annual levy has been set, increased from last years £57million to £100million for those that arrange pensions (shop keepers). This levy always comes with 30 days to pay (thanks). This is only a fraction of the full regulatory fees that I and other adviser firms have to pay.

Nobody to blame… but the good guys can pay up right?

The pension companies that allowed these investments in their pensions claim “not guilty – the adviser did it”, the regulator claims “We can’t use our product intervention powers on unregulated investments”… so cannot stop the funds being sold (or bought).

Those that sold these things have scuttled off elsewhere, probably to re-emerge in a different guise, leaving the dwindling number of firms (now about 5,300) and advisers (now around 24,000 from about 250,000 20 years ago) to pay the bill. The bill is paid by the firm and is enough to wipeout some firms, meaning that next year….the numbers reduce, so the share of the bill increases. There is only so much “cost” that a small firm can manage before needing to pass this on to their clients. I therefore predict that as a consequence, many advisers will be “forced” to put up their fees… which means you are also coughing up for the greed of your neighbour, because they cannot be bothered to take any responsibility for believing in fairytales…

Sorry to moan, but seriously… this isn’t fair is it? Of course people that have been ripped off need compensating, but seriously, you didnt think investing in a timeshare via your pension was normal did you? Your comments would be very welcome…. perhaps I am missing something, perhaps my entire profession is… in which case I’d like to know so that I have a snowballs chance of improving it.

Dominic Thomas

Is Financial Services like gun crime?Dominic2025-01-27T16:09:57+00:00

Retiring Doctors and GPs?

Lately I have found myself between a rock and a hard place when advising my medical clients. Through no fault of their own, many long-serving Consultants are being punished due to poorly thought through rules about the Lifetime Allowance and Annual Allowance. Whilst on the one hand they are “lucky” to have large pension funds, that are by comparison “brilliant” the fault of successive Governments to fail to do their sums is hardly their fault. Indeed if ever there was an appropriate use of the term “moving the goalposts” it is surely fitting for what has happened to public sector pensions, particularly the NHS Pension Scheme, which was revised in 2008 and has now morphed into the 2015 Scheme (from the start of this month).

The changes have meant that members have to guess when they might best retire… in some specialities that is “a challenge”, most have to pay more, work longer and accrue less, whilst, (if reports are to be believed) having to cope with a greater workload, politically motivated “targets” and an under resourced organisation.

As a result of blown 2012 Fixed Protection and further reductions to the Lifetime Allowance, many of those that I work with are somewhat fed up with the powerlessness that they feel in relation to their pension rights. I cannot speak of widespread disatisfaction, but certainly those that I know within the medical community (quite a number) are “cheesed off”. The way benefits are calculated are ludicrously complicated and often mean that extra taxes are payable – through no fault of the doctor – simply by being in the scheme and having an increase in pay which is out of sync with the defined limits. I’m not talking small taxes here – but excess amounts that are deemed to have been paid as income, even though this is not the case in reality (it isn’t paid as income)…

According to the BMA, a poll of over 15,000 GP’s indicated that 34% of them expected to retire within the next 5 years. Statistics out of context can be used to support any argument, so a headline such as this one needs some unpicking.

According to the GMC, there are about 60,000 licensed doctors on the GP Register for the whole of the UK. The GP register has been around since 2006 and requires that all practicing GPs keep their license and records up to date. This figure is for the whole of the UK and does include some possible double-counting as some specialists are GPs and vice versa. In England there are 40,584 GPs and according to data published last month by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), for the first time there are now more practicing female GPs (20,435) than male GPs (19,801). In any event, a suvery of 15,000 is therefore a survey of about 37% of the entire workforce by headcount… which is a significant survey, one might say a very solid survey, certainly when considered as a percentage of the relevant population – unlike the current political polls or those TV adverts for women’s products that claim high rates of satisfaction (so small that it is questionable if the people conducting the survey actually left their office building)… so this survey, unlike some, is rather “worth it”. Of course, not all GPs work full-time, the figures are a headcount, not a precise allocation of full-time GPs, the full-time equivalent number of GPs is 36,920. If trainees and retainers are excluded, then the full-time equivalent is 32,628.

By way of “hard facts” here are some NHS statistics to consider, I have taken these from the HSCIC report, which frankly could make the statistics much clearer… anyway…

1,387,692 Total NHS workforce (1,187,606 FTE)

of which

701,872 are professionally qualified clinical staff (623,050 FTE)… 50.5%

42,733 Consultants (40,443 FTE)…. 3.0% of NHS staff

55,079 Hospital Doctors (53,786 FTE)…. 3.9% of NHS staff

37,078 Managers (35,164 FTE)….2.6%

36,920 General Practitioners (32,628 FTE)… 2.6%

377,191 Nurses, including GP nurses (328,577 FTE)….27.1%

The problems of staffing within GP surgeries looks set to continue and frankly, if politicians contrinue to play havoc with the pensions (Lifetime Allowance and Annual Allowance nonsense) of doctors and nurses, they may well also be considering earlier retirement. Future PM, you have been warned…

Dominic Thomas

Retiring Doctors and GPs?Dominic2025-01-27T16:12:32+00:00

Pension Timebomb

Ok its April 1st, but this isn’t an April Fools Day joke…. this is data from the Policy Exchange, founded in 2002 to help contribute the national thinking about society. I don’t know if it is the case, but it would appear that the Coalition Government had a look at this before deciding to introduce the pension rules that come into effect next week. However if you are someone still saving for a pension or an employer, the findings are not great reading, with both needng to contribute rather more to pensions. Clicking on the graphic should make it larger.

by policyexchange.

Dominic Thomas

Pension TimebombDominic2025-01-27T16:12:32+00:00

Pension Freedoms and a Lamborghini

I’m sure you will have come across newspaper reports that some people are concerned that the new pension freedoms, (which come into effect from 6th April 2015) are likely to mean that some people make some daft decisions about their pension pot. You have probably heard that some may go a little mad and buy a Lamborghini.

This is an issue that I have talked about with clients recently, not because they were thinking of buying a Lamborghini, but I simply wanted to explain what the nw pension rules really mean. Admittedly as I don’t own a Lamborghini I’m not that familar with their prices. I’m not an avid Top Gear fan, though I do like Grand Prix. So just by way of a guide, perhaps you may like to know the reality of using a pension to buy a Lamborghini.

Dream Car? Aventador LP 700-4

Making the wild assumption that you would want a brand new car, the cheapest model I can find available in the UK is the Aventador LP 700-4 which starts at £260,040 (I love the £40!). I’m sure the reduction in petrol prices will help, but I imagine that this is a car that with a top speed of 217mph and a combined urban/extra urban fuel consumption of 16 miles per gallon is also going to be expensive to run, let alone service.

On the Road Price

Assuming that this is an “on-the-road” price you need to write a cheque for £260,040 to the dealer from your pension. As of today a pension isn’t a bank account and does not come with a cheque book. But from April 6th you will be able take all of the money out (if you are 55 or older). The new rules allow you to take all your money out should you wish to – you don’t have to buy an annuity. However the original rules still apply, in that you can take 25% of the fund as tax free cash, the balance is deemed as income and taxed at your marginal rate of income tax (as it would be if it were an annuity). So, to buy the Aventador LP700-4 you need to pay £260,040, there are two ways that you could now achieve this.

1. Use the tax free cash – you could have a pension pot worth £1,040,160 and be able to take out 25% as tax free cash (£260,040).

2. Use the entire pension pot.You need a pension of tax free or have a pension pot worth at least £393,000. This would mean that you could take £98,250 as tax free cash and £294,750 as income (but suffer 45% income tax) leaving a net income of £162,112.50 and so have £260,362.50 to hand over the the Lamborghini dealer. Ok not all your income will be taxed at 45% – just the income over £150,000.. but most will be taxed at at least 40%, some at 20%, you would forfeit your personal allowance and in so doing pay an effective rate of tax of 60% on part of the income.

Too Fast, Too Furious… for most

It would take someone with either considerable additional resources, or perhaps a very short life expectancy to decide to buy the car with their pension… essentially costing £393,000 rather than £260,040. It may surprise you and probably alarm you to learn that the average pension pot “at retirement” is about £30,000, so for most people, they are more likely to be able to buy a model Lamborghini car which will cost between £6 and £3,654 (according to the site) or perhaps you fancy a T-shirt starting at £43.

Given that your pension, in combination with your other resources is meant to last for the rest of your life, the key is to ensure that it doesn’t run out before you do. This is precisely what we do for our clients, figure out what income you need to support your lifestyle, how much is needed, what returns required and making some assumptions (which we review together) about inflation (currently 0% here in the UK) and life expectancy. When it comes to avoiding living on the street, you really dont want a pension withdrawal strategy that is too fast and too furious.

Dominic Thomas

Pension Freedoms and a LamborghiniDominic2025-01-27T16:12:32+00:00

What About Common Sense? Budget 2015

What About Common Sense?

There is another Budget tomorrow (Budget 2015). Sadly, the older I get the more cynical I become about whether these achieve anything. I shall be keeping clients posted in due course, but if the last Budget is to act as an indication, expect the unexpected… and as we have an election looming, expect a bribe.

I am concerned about pensions and the constant meddling by Governments of all persuasions. The point of pensions is to encourage people to save for their retirement, so that they are not dependent upon the State, something that would seem in stark contrast to “reforms” over the years. Pensions are meant to be simple, and frankly they could be. The fact that they are not is entirely due to politicians, not the pensions industry. Complicated doesn’t begin to touch the surface of rules that are designed by short-term thinking…. so I shall reserve judgement until tomorrow, once I can actually digest the information rather than rely on newspaper stories.

Dominic Thomas

What About Common Sense? Budget 2015Dominic2025-01-21T15:51:07+00:00

Saving Ryan, is Sacrifice

Can I earn sacrifice?

I was watching the 1998 movie “Saving Private Ryan” again recently and quite apart from the feelings that it naturally invokes, I was captured by one of the last lines of the film. As Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) is dying, he whispers “earn this…. earn it” to Ryan (Matt Damon) … at least that’s what I think he said… this is then followed by a scene many years later at the grave of Captain Miller in Normandy when Ryan turns to his wife and rather desperately asks “Am I a good man?” in the hope that he had indeed earned his freedom.

Now, I like the film and the Captain Miller character, but really – earn it? surely this is a last exasperated frustration at the unfairness of his death, not meant as some sort of life-bond to payback the sacrifice… which is frankly impossible – and as a teacher, Miller would have, in a less stressful environment appreciated as much. Certainly be eternally grateful, remember and bear witness to the huge sacrifices made… but to earn it? we can’t. We cannot earn our freedom, it is simply given… surely.

Choices and Sacrifice

Anyway, it made me wonder whether others have lived under the pressure to earn back the sacrifices made. Children are sometimes in this scenario, yet it is parents that choose to make the sacrifices, not the child. We make sacrifices surely because we are working towards and hoping for a better future, these are choices. We make them frequently in all sorts of ways. Money and the “sacrifice” of denial of self (and thus pleasure) raises different issues for each person. A basic budget implies some sort of sacrifice, building a pension fund involves a sacrifice of spending now… delayed gratification. To me the term is way too harsh in these contexts – what we are really talking about is making a choice and choosing to plan for the future rather than live for the present. This is a frequent tension in financial planning for anyone… do I save for tomorrow? (which I may not see) or do I blow it all now? It will be interesting to observe how those retiring this year will handle this question. The new pension freedoms pose precisely this dilemma…of course somone turning 65 in 2015 was born in 1950, after the war…but they too have made sacrifices over the years… the question will ultimately be – have they made enough?

Dominic Thomas

Saving Ryan, is SacrificeDominic2023-12-01T12:39:57+00:00

Auto Enrolment Fines – Workplace Pensions

As expected, the pensions regulator is taking auto enrolment (workplace pensions) rather more seriously than it took stakeholder pensions. Employers were warned about the prospect of fines and as the number of firms that should have started their pensions has multiplied, so have the fines. This is unlikely to alter as the momentum increases. This year medium sized and some small firms will be expected to comply with the rules. 166 penalty notices were issued in the last quarter of 2014 and over 1,100 compliance warning notices sent to firms.

Avoid the Fines

Employers need to get on with their auto enrolment compliance. In practice this is a project management exercise rather than about finding a good pension. As a result I advise employers and Accountants to use the very low cost software from AE in a Box. It enables you to fully comply in time and avoid fines. Importantly it is an ongoing project – much like PAYE is an ongoing project, so data and processes need to be adhered to strictly.

AE in a Box

AE in a Box is very inexpensive, £79+VAT to set up and then £29+VAT a month thereafter. The monthly subscription will only begin 6 months prior to your staging date. I would urge you to consider this bit of kit. It isn’t a financial product, its a tool to help you do the job yourself, cost-effectively rather than getting a more expensive planner like myself involved.

Dominic Thomas

Auto Enrolment Fines – Workplace PensionsDominic2025-01-21T15:51:07+00:00

Speaking up for Annuities

OK, let me be clear. I have long wished that the compulsion for people to buy annuities would be abolished. It seems that sometimes wishes do come true…as the Chancellor did precisely this in his Budget last year and on 6th April 2015 the new rules begin. However the general level of financial knowledge is very poor in this country… little wonder as its a dull subject for most people and full of very unhelpful jargon… and some maths… the perfect ingredients for neglect.

Annuities aren’t “bad”

Annuities aren’t good or bad. They are simply a financial product, designed to provide a guaranteed income for life. It is very true that annuity rates have fallen heavily over the last 20 years. This has nothing to do with “greedy insurance companies” but is due to low interest rates, low inflation, low gilt yields and increased life expectancy.

So when I came across an item from the Telegraph “I spent £100,000 on an annuity” I was drawn to it…. well.. thought I should read it anyhow. This is the sad story about Mr Archer, who following his purchase of an annuity decided to see his doctor, who suggested he has a scan and, as it turns out, had a large tumor growing and therefore posed some serious questions about life expectancy.

Now, we have probably all made decisions that we would like to reverse with the advantage of hindsight, but in truth the only real “mistake” made by Mr Archer was to fail to see his doctor and get a full medical prior to buying his annuity. Armed with such information his adviser would probably have provided him with different options.

A clean bill of health…

Normally in the world of financial services, you want a nice clean medical history… relevant when applying for any sort of financial protection (life assurance, critical illness cover, income protection and even private medical insurance). However when it comes to annuities you are more likely to have better options if your health looks… well not so good. In both instances you must be entirely honest, but quite obviously it would make sense to have a medical before an annuity application is made. This could lead to being offered an “enhanced” annuity (sometimes called an “impaired life” annuity). In short, meaning that your life expectancy is below average, so you are offered a higher income… perhaps 30%-40% more. Many retiree’s will qualify for an enhanced annuity.

You cannot change history… but can alter the future

This is not the fault of the annuity provider, or indeed the product. It is sadly a case of “if only I’d known”. Whilst some clamour for annuities to be unpicked, I think this very unwise. The new rules result in greater flexibility, but there are serious concerns that some will simply blow their pension. Indeed just because a doctor or insurer says you have a reduced life expectancy, does not mean that its a certainty… its all about likelihood and probability. The only certainty you can give yourself at retirement, is to book a medical with your GP first, then get a decent financial planner to outline your options. Please learn from the very understandable mistake that Mr Archer made and don’t make the same one. None of us are immortal, with age comes greater health problems… death is not a question of if, but when.. so please add some advantage to your hand.

Dominic Thomas

Speaking up for AnnuitiesDominic2025-01-27T16:12:33+00:00

Oldest Woman – secrets to longevity

Scotland’s oldest woman, Jessie Gallan recently turned 109 according to reports. She suggested that her longevity had been achieved by regular walking, eating porridge and avoiding men. Whilst I imagine this is is probably a little too reductionist, it does bring the issue of longevity back into the news again.

In April pension changes mean that it will be possible to encash an entire pension fund all at once. This would be very unwise for most people and there is concern that people will underestimate their longevity and thereby run out of money.

Living to a very old age is a mixed blessing and I imagine that you will have your own thoughts on this. As for anyone that is 109 now, if they began drawing a State pension at age 60, it has been in payment for 49 years… about the same as working life (16-65).

For those that wish to live a very long time, I guess its time to avoid the men and have a regular breakfast of porridge.

Dominic Thomas

Oldest Woman – secrets to longevityDominic2025-01-27T16:12:33+00:00

Pensioners Broke the Website

Today is the launch of the NS&I Pensioner Bonds and the demand has been so great for them, that pensioners broke the website for NS&I… or more accurately, the site has had a significant amount of technical problems today coping with the rush to buy pensioner bonds.

As mentioned before the rates are very good by comparison, whether you want to tie up cash in a Bond for these periods is another matter, but if you do and you are seeking very low risk (not no risk) then this can be suitable (note I did not say that it is suitable – as ever context and your circumstances are everything).

The one year bond is 2.8% and the 3 year bond is 4%. Details can be found here at NS&I.

Dominic Thomas

Pensioners Broke the WebsiteDominic2025-01-27T16:12:33+00:00

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