by Colin Baines | Jun 2016 | Comments
For over 20 years, Australia has been the most popular destination for British retirees seeking sunshine in the twilight of their years. However, a recent change in Australian legislation means that there is a significant cut to the amount of pension money that they...
by Colin Baines | May 2016 | Comments
Last month the government announced the closure of the MAS thus bringing an end to one of the more disgraceful and cack-handed episodes of government supposedly trying to help the public. The Treasury said ‘The name ‘Money Advice Service’ has always been misleading as...
by Colin Baines | Apr 2016 | Comments
With effect from Monday 8th March a new regulatory regime came into force which holds top executives responsible for failures in banks. There is even a new criminal offence ‘of failure to prevent a bank collapse’. That said the scheme has been watered down since it...
by Colin Baines | Mar 2016 | Comments
Time should not let us forget the damage that Gordon Brown did to our previously sacrosanct private pension system when in 1997 he imposed a tax on pension funds. This in spite of the long recognised problem of an aging population. What was possibly not anticipated at...
by Colin Baines | Feb 2016 | Comments
Tracy McDermott, the former head of enforcement at the FCA, who was made stand in CEO when Martin Wheatley was unceremoniously given the heave-ho, let it be known that she did not want the top job permanently. There were sighs of relief in some quarters, including...
by Colin Baines | Jan 2016 | Comments
Looking back over 2015, there can be little dispute that the major event in financial services was the surprise introduction of ‘pension freedoms’. These freedoms though came with their own problems and the FCA was charged with putting in place a framework to govern...
