Call us on 01823 353970

Pension Changes You May Have Missed

There was scarcely a mention of the ‘P’ word in October’s Budget speech. Instead, Mr Hammond used the Budget speech as an opportunity to unveil his changes to income tax thresholds, an increase in NHS mental health funding and a ban on future PFI contracts. However, there were some changes to pensions that you may have missed:

The pension dashboard

HM Treasury confirmed that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would look at designing a pension dashboard which would include our state pensions. The pensions dashboard will be an online platform that will let us see all of our pension schemes in a single view. The average worker is nowadays expected to work eleven jobs during their career and keeping track of so many pension pots could prove confusing to say the least.

There was an extra £5 million of funding for the DWP to help make the pension dashboard a reality. Commentators see the dashboard as a welcome sign that the government is committed to helping savers keep track of their funds.

Cold calling ban

The government has promised to ban pensions cold calling as part of a drive against pension scammers. Almost two years since the government’s initial proposals to combat pension scams were announced, pensions cold calling will finally be made illegal.

Research by Prudential indicates that one in 10 over 55s fear they have been targetted by pensions scammers since the introduction of pension freedoms in 2015. Cold calls, with offers to unlock or transfer funds, are a frequently used tactic to defraud people of their retirement savings.

As much as these measures go a long way to making people’s pensions more secure, the government will be powerless to enforce cold calls made from abroad and not on behalf of a UK company. It is unclear how and if the government will work with international regulators to mitigate the dangers of such calls. We should all be very much on our guard.

14 November 2018

The views expressed in this blog do not in any way constitute advice and are specific to the date noted. As time passes the facts can change and readers should consult their adviser for up to date advice on any matters covered within the blog. Invest Southwest offers an initial review, which is free of charge, however long it takes. From this we will be able to confirm how we can help and give you an opportunity to decide if you would like us to. Thereafter, we will provide you with detailed recommendations and exact costs. Please note that we promise not to levy any kind of fee unless we can demonstrate a benefit to you.

Request a call backMake an EnquiryDownload Centre