FNZ’s new business restriction has been lifted as it's section 166 review comes to an end. That restriction had prevented the platform provider from taking on new asset migrations since last year. No doubt a big relief for the business in the UK, as it seeks stability on a global basis.
New Model Adviser has the scoop.
There is a lot of Budget related and Budget adjacent content in the trade websites.
Andy Bell, founder of platform A.J. Bell, argues in Money Marketing that a brave Chancellor would grasp the nettle in terms of spending cuts.
But what would Bell cut? This sentence gives a strong indication. “Reeves has already been burned by the fury over welfare cuts, and the words “state pension”, “public sector pensions” and “triple lock” are basically a red button marked “ejector seat." Yet this is where Bell feels she needs to look.
Writing in New Model Adviser, former fund manager Richard Buxton likewise argues that the £111bn a year debt interest bill shows all political parties must face up to the scale of the UK's debt.
But as this debt situation puts the spotlight on tax rises what should advisers do?
Ian Futcher, a financial planner at Quilter, discusses this in Money Marketing. He writes: “I always come back to the golden rule: advice must be based on current legislation. We build plans that are flexible enough to adapt, of course, but we don’t act on rumour.
“Unless a client’s personal circumstances have changed, there’s rarely a good reason to make drastic moves, whether that’s accessing pension funds early or shifting investments to cash because of geopolitical fears.”
The recent example which Futcher gives, unsurprisingly, is tax free cash.
This Telegraph article from Tom Haynes takes a well-established approach to shedding light on just how far a state pension will stretch. To quote:
‘I lived off the state pension for a week – and was forced to drink water at the pub’
“Young workers are buckling under the weight of Reeves’s tax burden. But do pensioners have it any easier?”
It is a classic argument, reminiscent of ‘traditional’ financial services arguments about not relying on the state, but where does it sit in terms of calls for adjustments to the triple lock?
Interesting that younger people are increasingly amenable to triple lock reform, as Pension Bee research suggests.
As Thisismoney reports: “There's a huge chasm in support for the triple lock promise between 18- to 24-year-olds and those over age 65.
Only 21 per cent of the youngest adults are in support of the state pension triple lock compared to some 82 per cent of those over age 65.
A cynic might suggest that it’s not exactly going to be front of mind for most young adults. And it is for the retired, especially when they select a party to vote for.
Most advisers think something has to give. But when?
