Arthur BeverlyPWP WK Jul14 blue
2 Stewart Street Milngavie Glasgow G62 6BW
[email protected] 0141 956 5525
Free retirement guidance should be independent Government proposals to provide free retirement guidance have widespread support but more than half of over-55s think it should come from an independent, consumer body. Chancellor George Osborne announced plans at the 2014 Budget to guarantee all retirees with a deined contribution pension “free, impartial, face-to-face advice”. Retirement “advice”, which is regulated, was quickly replaced with “guidance”, which may be unregulated, subject to the inal rules. A survey by insurance and retirement specialist LV= found that 80% of respondents supported the proposals, due to take efect from April 2015.
However, the responses revealed a lack of faith in pension providers to give impartial, trustworthy guidance. The survey of more than 2,000 people aged over 55 found: • 78% support free pension savings
guidance for those approaching retirement • 52% would accept guidance from
an independent, governmentbacked consumer body • 48% would act on guidance
provided by an independent body
• just 19% would act on guidance
provided to them by their pension provider. Managing director of LV= Life and Pensions, Richard Rowney, said the research indings: “...support the widely held view that, for the guidance to be a success, those approaching retirement need to have trust in the process and the organisation ofering the service. It is clear from our research that, in order for this to be achieved, the sessions should be provided by an independent body.”
• only 17% would choose a guidance
session ofered by their existing pension provider if given the choice
Arthur Beverly Financial Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register number 485198. Registered in Scotland Number 342744. Registered Office: 22 Backbrae Street, Kilsyth, G65 0NH
www.abfm.co.uk
Most people support government plans to ofer free retirement guidance but half think it should come from an independent body. An increase in stress and mental health illness has contributed to a rise in long-term sickness in the workplace. The energy regulator wants to make it quicker to switch energy supplier. And we look at the impact of changes to ISA rules.
JULY 2014
In this month’s Wealth Knowledge newsletter…
•
just over half of companies reported stress and mental health illness as a cause of longterm sickness, a 7% increase in the last 5 years
•
a ifth of companies said mental health illnesses were the biggest cause of long-term absence, an increase of 4% in the last 5 years
Overall absence is 2.1%, the equivalent of 4.9 days per employee per year. However, almost 40% of irms surveyed said long-term absence has increased over the last 2 years.
•
two thirds of companies have sickness absence programmes
•
68% of companies ofer employees access to occupational health services.
The report attributes this in part to increase in long-term absence due to stress and mental health illness:
Professor Sayeed Khan, chief medical adviser at EEF, said:
Rise in longterm work absence Workplace absence has fallen to a record low but long-term sickness has risen, the manufacturers’ organisation EEF has found.
“Driving down absence rates, helping more employees return to work earlier and encouraging their wellbeing is critical for our economy. But, despite employers increasing investment in managing sickness absence and providing their employees with more health related beneits, the improvement in overall absence rates has more or less now plateaued.” Iain Laws, managing director of UK healthcare at Jelf Employee Beneits, said: “A focus on prevention must become a priority for UK employers who need to maintain a competitive workforce within an overall population that is both ageing and ailing. This is not only essential to tackle absence but to also address the less easily identiiable issue of presenteeism.”
Faster switch for energy customers The energy regulator Ofgem has approved proposals from energy suppliers to make it possible to switch provider in just 3 days. At the moment it takes up to 5 weeks to change supplier (including a 2 week cooling of period). Under the new proposals, customers will be able to get a new supplier 3 days after the cooling of period. The plans are part of Ofgem’s strategy to improve the switching process for customers.
Key dates:
Dermot Nolan, CEO of Ofgem, said:
•
June 2014 - cooling of period allows customers 14 days to change their mind once they have changed suppliers
•
August 2014 - suppliers will face investigation and ines if they do not complete the switching process within 5 weeks
•
End of 2018 - next day switching will allow customers to switch before the cooling of period. This will allow consumers to use their new supplier before making a irm commitment.
“Consumers can change their bank in 7 days, their mobile phone in just a couple, but have to wait signiicantly longer to switch their energy supplier. We know that consumers want a reliable and eicient switching process, and that concerns about it going wrong can put them of shopping around for a better deal.” Citizens Advice chief executive, Gillian Guy, said: “People lose money when they wait weeks to switch energy suppliers. The moves from Ofgem to introduce next day switching have long been needed in the energy market. Five weeks is too long to wait when you’ve found a better deal elsewhere.”
New ISA allowance from 1 July On 1 July 2014 ISAs were reformed into a replacement product – the New ISA (NISA) – and all existing ISAs will automatically become NISAs. The annual allowance of £11,880 increased to £15,000, which can be made up of cash, stocks and shares or a combination of both.
Key aspects:
•
investments can be transferred from a stocks and shares NISA to a cash NISA
•
savers can open 1 cash NISA and 1 stocks and shares NISA each tax year
•
the Junior ISA annual limit increased to £4,000.
Important Notice
The way in which tax charges (or tax relief, as appropriate) are applied depends upon individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. ISA eligibility depends upon individual circumstances. This document is solely for information purposes and nothing in this document is intended to constitute advice or a recommendation. You should not make any investment decisions based upon its content. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Whilst considerable care has been taken to ensure that the information contained within this document is accurate and up-to-date, no warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of any information. E & OE.
[email protected] 0141 956 5525
Free retirement guidance should be independent Government proposals to provide free retirement guidance have widespread support but more than half of over-55s think it should come from an independent, consumer body. Chancellor George Osborne announced plans at the 2014 Budget to guarantee all retirees with a deined contribution pension “free, impartial, face-to-face advice”. Retirement “advice”, which is regulated, was quickly replaced with “guidance”, which may be unregulated, subject to the inal rules. A survey by insurance and retirement specialist LV= found that 80% of respondents supported the proposals, due to take efect from April 2015.
However, the responses revealed a lack of faith in pension providers to give impartial, trustworthy guidance. The survey of more than 2,000 people aged over 55 found: • 78% support free pension savings
guidance for those approaching retirement • 52% would accept guidance from
an independent, governmentbacked consumer body • 48% would act on guidance
provided by an independent body
• just 19% would act on guidance
provided to them by their pension provider. Managing director of LV= Life and Pensions, Richard Rowney, said the research indings: “...support the widely held view that, for the guidance to be a success, those approaching retirement need to have trust in the process and the organisation ofering the service. It is clear from our research that, in order for this to be achieved, the sessions should be provided by an independent body.”
• only 17% would choose a guidance
session ofered by their existing pension provider if given the choice
Arthur Beverly Financial Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register number 485198. Registered in Scotland Number 342744. Registered Office: 22 Backbrae Street, Kilsyth, G65 0NH
www.abfm.co.uk
Most people support government plans to ofer free retirement guidance but half think it should come from an independent body. An increase in stress and mental health illness has contributed to a rise in long-term sickness in the workplace. The energy regulator wants to make it quicker to switch energy supplier. And we look at the impact of changes to ISA rules.
JULY 2014
In this month’s Wealth Knowledge newsletter…
•
just over half of companies reported stress and mental health illness as a cause of longterm sickness, a 7% increase in the last 5 years
•
a ifth of companies said mental health illnesses were the biggest cause of long-term absence, an increase of 4% in the last 5 years
Overall absence is 2.1%, the equivalent of 4.9 days per employee per year. However, almost 40% of irms surveyed said long-term absence has increased over the last 2 years.
•
two thirds of companies have sickness absence programmes
•
68% of companies ofer employees access to occupational health services.
The report attributes this in part to increase in long-term absence due to stress and mental health illness:
Professor Sayeed Khan, chief medical adviser at EEF, said:
Rise in longterm work absence Workplace absence has fallen to a record low but long-term sickness has risen, the manufacturers’ organisation EEF has found.
“Driving down absence rates, helping more employees return to work earlier and encouraging their wellbeing is critical for our economy. But, despite employers increasing investment in managing sickness absence and providing their employees with more health related beneits, the improvement in overall absence rates has more or less now plateaued.” Iain Laws, managing director of UK healthcare at Jelf Employee Beneits, said: “A focus on prevention must become a priority for UK employers who need to maintain a competitive workforce within an overall population that is both ageing and ailing. This is not only essential to tackle absence but to also address the less easily identiiable issue of presenteeism.”
Faster switch for energy customers The energy regulator Ofgem has approved proposals from energy suppliers to make it possible to switch provider in just 3 days. At the moment it takes up to 5 weeks to change supplier (including a 2 week cooling of period). Under the new proposals, customers will be able to get a new supplier 3 days after the cooling of period. The plans are part of Ofgem’s strategy to improve the switching process for customers.
Key dates:
Dermot Nolan, CEO of Ofgem, said:
•
June 2014 - cooling of period allows customers 14 days to change their mind once they have changed suppliers
•
August 2014 - suppliers will face investigation and ines if they do not complete the switching process within 5 weeks
•
End of 2018 - next day switching will allow customers to switch before the cooling of period. This will allow consumers to use their new supplier before making a irm commitment.
“Consumers can change their bank in 7 days, their mobile phone in just a couple, but have to wait signiicantly longer to switch their energy supplier. We know that consumers want a reliable and eicient switching process, and that concerns about it going wrong can put them of shopping around for a better deal.” Citizens Advice chief executive, Gillian Guy, said: “People lose money when they wait weeks to switch energy suppliers. The moves from Ofgem to introduce next day switching have long been needed in the energy market. Five weeks is too long to wait when you’ve found a better deal elsewhere.”
New ISA allowance from 1 July On 1 July 2014 ISAs were reformed into a replacement product – the New ISA (NISA) – and all existing ISAs will automatically become NISAs. The annual allowance of £11,880 increased to £15,000, which can be made up of cash, stocks and shares or a combination of both.
Key aspects:
•
investments can be transferred from a stocks and shares NISA to a cash NISA
•
savers can open 1 cash NISA and 1 stocks and shares NISA each tax year
•
the Junior ISA annual limit increased to £4,000.
Important Notice
The way in which tax charges (or tax relief, as appropriate) are applied depends upon individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. ISA eligibility depends upon individual circumstances. This document is solely for information purposes and nothing in this document is intended to constitute advice or a recommendation. You should not make any investment decisions based upon its content. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Whilst considerable care has been taken to ensure that the information contained within this document is accurate and up-to-date, no warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of any information. E & OE.
