In May 2016, the Government launched a free Pension Tracing Service enabling you to track down lost or forgotten pension pots. The service allows you to trace either the name of your previous employer or the name of the pension provider at that time.

On 19 July 2017, the Government accepted the recommendation made by John Cridland (ex-Confederation of British Industry boss) in his report to bring forward the rise in the State Pension Age (SPA) for men and women to age 68.

The Scottish Government has confirmed formally that all income tax rates and thresholds will remain at the 2016/17 levels for the 2017/18 tax year. Consequently, top rate taxpayers in Scotland will pay more than their British counterparts south of the border.

The Chancellor in his recent budget on 9 March 2017, announced that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will introduce a 25% tax charge on Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) transfers for members not in the European Economic Area (EEA), unless certain conditions apply.

Following the recent announcement by the Government to call a snap general election in June, the Government has proposed a number of changes in order to expedite the passing of the Finance (No 2) Bill, before Parliament is dissolved on 3 May 2017.

The State Pension Age (SPA) is the earliest age an individual can elect to claim their State Pension. Under current plans the SPA is due to rise to age 68 by 2046.

A study conducted by Willis Towers Watson has identified that over half of defined benefit (DB) members who received independent financial advice chose to transfer their benefits out of their DB Scheme. The increase was credited to members wanting to access greater flexibility following the freedom and choice reforms in 2015. The study also found...

Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb (now director of policy at Royal London) has called upon the Pensions Regulator (tPR) to consider whether the transfer process can be simplified and whether schemes should be required to provide all relevant information when a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is first requested.