12/09/2023
Whether you want to spend your golden years on a sunny beach, or finally invest into that dream home extension – everyone has a vision of a perfect retirement. But what if the foundations of that dream – your pension – isn’t what you thought it was? The world of pensions can be confusing, and … Continued
03/04/2023
Pension scams have become a growing concern in the UK, with many individuals falling victim to fraudsters who promise unrealistic returns on investment. If the cost of living crisis has taught us anything, it’s that protecting your money and planning for later life could save you a lot of worry in the future. Even if … Continued
14/09/2021
Between 2016 and 2019, the now-defunct investment firm Blackmore Bond collected £45 million from its investors via means of high-risk, speculative “mini-bonds”; a form of investment whereby returns are not fixed. Therein, investors were promised stable returns of up to 9.9% on their investments, however, following Blackmore’s collapse, instead, they incurred losses of up to … Continued
14/09/2021
The mass marketing of speculative mini-bonds to ordinary investors has been banned indefinitely by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A number of scandals involving unregulated bonds have resulted in this ban on illiquid securities mass marketing. This includes the collapse of London Capital & Finance (LCF) in 2019. What happened to London Capital & Finance … Continued
10/08/2021
What was the British Steel Pension scandal? In 2017, thousands of British Steel pension scheme members workers were advised to transfer their defined benefit pension schemes into self-invested personal pensions as a result of negligent financial advisers. BSPS members had been required to decide by December of that year whether or not to move their … Continued
02/06/2021
What is a final salary pension? When it comes to our retirement, making sure that every penny of our pensions count is critical. Final salary pensions guarantee you an annual income for the rest of your life and are frequently offered to those working in the public sector i.e. the health, education and government services. … Continued
02/06/2021
How do I protect my pension if my pension provider goes bust? When it comes to something as precious as our pension, it can be devastating if something happens to it – especially if it’s completely out of our control. Fortunately, there are a number of government regulations in place to make sure that if … Continued
01/06/2021
Estimated £1 billion compensation for mis-sold pension victims Mis-sold pension compensations are anticipated to hit £1 billion by 2022 but this is likely to be a reduced figure as victims are given reduced payments due to delays in complaint management, as reported in the FT Advisor. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has dished out an … Continued
27/04/2021
Claims from victims of mis-sold SIPP plans are forecast to rise by 89% to an eye-watering £336million in 2021. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has raised its total compensation budget from £700m in 2020 to over £1bn in 2021, with over a third of claims stemming from mis-sold SIPPs alone. Feeling the pandemic … Continued
11/01/2021
Seven ex-footballers in mis-sold pension battle 7 former footballers have launched a High Court claim for money losses relating to mis-sold pension advice provided by Kevin Neal, a former director of a series of defunct financial advice firms. Mr Neal had already been previously sued for £100,000 by former England and Newcastle striker, Alan Shearer, … Continued
