Consumers being badly advised on pensions, says regulator – The Guardian

‘The City watchdog has raised fresh concerns that thousands of consumers are being wrongly advised to cash in their defined benefit pension, putting them at greater risk of financial insecurity in old age.’

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The Guardian, 19th June 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Pension code of practice updated as industry cracks down on scammers – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 12th, 2019 in claims management, codes of practice, complaints, fraud, news, ombudsmen, pensions by tracey

‘The updated Pensions Scam Industry Group (PSIG) code of practice (107 page / 2.6MB PDF) includes a number of changes, such as guidance designed to help trustees and providers deal with claims management companies and updates on how to notify the UK’s fraud reporting centre Action Fraud of scams.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th June 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

High Court judges’ pay raised to £236,000 a year to fill vacancies having ‘serious impact’ on courts – The Independent

Posted June 6th, 2019 in courts, delay, judiciary, news, pensions, remuneration, statistics by tracey

‘The government has increased the pay of High Court judges by 25 per cent to almost £240,000 a year in a bid to fill vacant posts.’

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The Independent, 5th June 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Women pension age case goes to High Court – BBC News

Posted June 5th, 2019 in judicial review, news, pensions, retirement, sex discrimination, women by sally

‘Campaigners will head to the High Court on Wednesday for a judicial review into how the government raised the retirement age for women.’

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BBC News, 5th June 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Tribunal confirms surcharge on pension liberation scheme user – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 30th, 2019 in HM Revenue & Customs, loans, news, penalties, pensions, taxation by tracey

‘An unauthorised payment surcharge imposed on an individual who participated in a pension liberation scheme was confirmed by the tax tribunal as it said the individual had not acted reasonably in entering into the scheme.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th May 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Financial Remedy & Divorce Update, May 2019 – Family Law Week

Posted May 20th, 2019 in divorce, families, financial dispute resolution, news, pensions, reasons by tracey

‘Rose-Marie Drury, Senior Associate, Mills & Reeve LLP analyses the news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during April 2019.’

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Family Law Week, 14th May 2019

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Later rule changes cannot validate earlier pension increases, rules court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 15th, 2019 in appeals, news, pensions, retrospectivity by sally

‘Pension trustees have not been allowed to justify an increase pension contributions with rule changes that happened two years later. The Court of Appeal in the UK has ruled that trustees cannot use rule changes from 1993 to rectify mistakes made in 1991.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th May 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Woman, 81, killed herself after pension was frozen in error – The Guardian

Posted May 10th, 2019 in benefits, elderly, inquests, news, pensions, suicide by sally

‘An 81-year-old woman killed herself after running out of money when her pension was frozen due to an administrative error.’

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The Guardian, 9th May 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Defined penalties gives Pensions Regulator powers to protect defined benefit schemes – Doughty Street Chambers

Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd MP has announced that the government will introduce two new criminal offences to penalise the mismanagement of pension schemes.

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Doughty Street Chambers, 11th February 2019

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Seven-year jail terms unveiled for pension fund mismanagement – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2019 in company directors, news, pensions, professional conduct, sentencing by tracey

‘MPs and pension experts have welcomed government plans to introduce lengthy jail sentences for executives who recklessly mismanage pension funds, in an effort to avoid a repeat of recent scandals like BHS or Carillion.’

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The Guardian, 10th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Defendant who defrauded council pension fund of £1m jailed for seven years – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 30th, 2019 in fraud, local government, money laundering, news, pensions, sentencing by sally

‘A man who defrauded Westminster City Council’s pension fund of more than £1m has been jailed for seven years.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 29th January 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court caps appeal costs to keep ‘some semblance of reasonableness’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 17th, 2019 in airlines, appeals, costs, costs capping orders, indemnities, news, pensions, Supreme Court by tracey

‘The High Court has taken the proactive step of capping the costs of a litigant before they pursue an appeal through the Supreme Court. Mr Justice Arnold said the claimant in Airways Pension Scheme Trustee Ltd v Fielder & Anor should be limited to the same costs as the defendant – in doing so shaving around £200,000 from the costs estimate.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th January 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Jess Varnish loses employment tribunal against British Cycling and UK Sport – The Guardian

‘Jess Varnish, the former Great Britain track cyclist, has lost her landmark employment case against British Cycling and UK Sport which had threatened to overhaul funding for Olympic athletes.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Pension cold calling ban in force from 9 January – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 7th, 2019 in advertising, news, pensions, regulations, telecommunications by sally

‘Regulations banning ‘cold calls’ relating to pensions have been passed by parliament, and will come into force on 9 January 2019.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st December 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

New Judgment: Williams v Trustees of Swansea University Pension and Assurance Scheme & Anor [2018] UKSC 65 – UKSC Blog

Posted December 18th, 2018 in disability discrimination, news, pensions, Supreme Court, universities by sally

‘The claimant appealed against a decision that the calculation of an enhancement under the ill-health early retirement provisions of his pension was not unfavourable treatment that constituted discrimination arising from disability.’

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UKSC Blog, 17th December 2018

Source: ukscblog.com

Judgment handed down in the case of O’Brien v Ministry of Justice – Cloisters

‘The case concerns discrimination against part-time judges in the calculation of pensions. The issue is whether periods of service as a part-time judge prior the coming into effect of Part Time Workers Directive (97/81/EC) should be taken into account in calculating the amount of pension to be paid upon retirement.’

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Cloisters, 7th November 2018

Source: www.cloisters.com

Court of Appeal dismisses BT pension scheme uprating challenge – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 6th, 2018 in indexation, news, pensions by sally

‘The wording of the pension scheme rules prevents BT from changing the rate of inflation it uses to uprate benefits payable under one of the strands of its pension scheme, the Court of Appeal has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th December 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

BT loses appeal to change method of pensions calculation – The Guardian

Posted December 5th, 2018 in appeals, news, pensions, shareholders by sally

‘BT has lost a legal bid to make changes to its pension scheme that unions claim would have transferred an estimated £2bn of wealth from scheme members to shareholders.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Final salary pension transfers stall as High Court throws rules into doubt – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 12th, 2018 in banking, complaints, financial regulation, news, ombudsmen, pensions by tracey

‘People who attempt to swap final salary company pensions for cash are being left in limbo following a controversial legal judgment.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Landmark day for state pension equality – BBC News

Posted November 6th, 2018 in budgets, equality, national insurance, news, pensions, statistics, women by sally

‘From Tuesday women in the UK will begin to qualify for their state pensions at the same age as men – currently 65.’

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BBC News, 5th November 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk