I am 56 this morning. I mention the fact  for a reason. Whether I like it or not,  George Osborne wrote his budget for me, and millions of others who are my age, and older. Whilst I have no desire to ever retire, if I get the chance, the fact is that the government’s new
Read the Rest…

The government has recently released its latest data on the cost of pension tax reliefs. This is something I have taken an interest in before and at that time suggested that there were major issues to be addressed in the private pension system, not least because the pensions it was providing appeared to be wholly
Read the Rest…

I am a supporter of the work of campaign group ShareAction, much of whose attention is focussed on improved pension fund behaviour and reporting, an issue close to my heart. ShareAction have just issued a new report on pension funds that do, and do not, take their member’s concerns into accounts in their investment strategy.
Read the Rest…

I wrote most of what follows on the need for massive accounting reform in the pensions industry to make this sector accountable to those who provide it with its funding and who are dependent upon it  in 2009.  I updated it a bit in 2012, and nothing then came of the idea; I can’t now
Read the Rest…

There are a lot of people asking me what I would do about pensions today. So here form 2010 is my answer: Finance for the Future, a partnership between me and fellow Green New Deal member and environmentalist Colin Hines, has published a new report this weekend. Entitled ‚ ‘Making Pensions Work’ it explores the reasons
Read the Rest…

The TUC was one of the sponsors of a new report on pensions out this week. I need to give this issue some more attention again, but one matter highlighted jumped out: Basic rate taxpayers make more than half of total pension contributions in the UK, but receive less than a third of pensions tax
Read the Rest…

As the FT notes this morning: UK companies reporting annual results for the year to March are expected to report an increase of more than £100bn in their aggregate pension scheme deficits, according to actuarial forecasts. This year’s reporting season is likely to expose larger, not smaller, pension shortfalls than existed a year ago, despite
Read the Rest…

In April 2008 I wrote a blog with the title ‘FTSE at 6,000 – is this madness‘. It was, of course. I was right. This is the FTSE since then from Yahoo this morning:  A crash was coming and my instincts were entirely right even though people did, of course, tell me I was wrong
Read the Rest…

A magazine called New Start has featured the following statement this week: A housing scheme in Manchester is the latest development to fuel debate over the use of council pension schemes to invest in local projects. Austin Macauley assesses whether it’s likely to open the floodgates The case for using England’s council pension funds to benefit local economies just got stronger…
Read the Rest…