Pensions - Retail

Chancellor George Osborne will further relax pension rules in his Budget on Wednesday to allow the sale of annuity contracts.

Forthcoming pensions freedoms represent "something akin to a Y2K moment" for providers, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive Martin Wheatley has said.

BlackRock is launching a new range of three target-date funds ahead of pension freedom reforms coming into effect on 6 April.

Asset managers should have to abide by similar regulation to annuity providers if they are to get involved in the retirement income market, argues the Financial Inclusion Centre.

How has funds industry changed since 1995?

Consumer research undertaken by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found 40% of consumers do not exercise their option to switch and instead purchase an annuity from their existing pension provider. The regulator found six key reasons why.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is asking annuity providers to look into their non-advised sales going back to 2008 to see if consumers missed out on higher income by buying the wrong type of annuity.

The FCA has proposed a 'Pensions Dashboard', and said product providers should be obliged to reveal how their annuity quotes compare with competitors' following its study of the retirement income market.

Savers could be forced to pay inheritance tax while they are still alive, under a new drive against tax avoidance planned by the government.

Thousands more families will be required to pay inheritance tax (IHT) this year as an improving economy and rising house prices pull them above the threshold, according to figures.