The UK becomes the fastest recovering Nature country? A bold, but achievable goal given our starting point, our financial expertise, our environmental leadership, and our pension fund system.

"New Town development needs to be holistic in planning, execution and finance. If not we may see many more developments like Northstowe in Cambridgeshire" (Keating)

Aubrey on why new towns should not be financed by Government Gilts Thomas Aubrey and Con Keating have joined up to speak on plans to If you are interested in this subject, here is Thomas' paper, we are looking forward to hearing from them on Tuesday 3oth September present ideas and answer…

Investment trusts need promotion not demotion from workplace pensions No messing with the Lords - investment trusts need promotion not demotion. The Association of Investment Companies has again appealed to the government to amend its pension schemes bill in the House of Lords as time runs out to…

A sensible response to the challenge of the Pensions Bill to TPR. How The Pensions Regulator’s evolution is shaping retirement outcomes  Robin Lloyd  As a Segment Lead at The Pensions Regulator (TPR), I helm a team of master trust and regulatory specialists, ensuring the seamless execution of…

Making nature an investment for our future (Rob Gardner) A World Worth Living In 4,686 subscribers Subscribed The title is from a 27 year old (I know very well). This week I've spent some time with Rob Gardner in a WeWork we knew very well. The positive impact of West Yorkshire money on the…

FCA and HMRC “panic warnings” won’t stop people taking cash. Here is something simple that the Government could and should do now. It should not make promises on how the state pension operates , or how income tax operates just as it doesn't tell us what it's going to do with the taxation of…

This is the model: corporates pay for resilience, investors back the assets, and members earn stable cash flows.

Making nature investable infrastructure. A World Worth Living In 4,686 subscribers Subscribed The title is from a 27 year old (I know very well). This week I've spent some time with Rob Gardner in a WeWork we knew very well. The positive impact of West Yorkshire money on the Norfolk coast is clear…

Jonathan Clements - a gentle and sensitive financial writer henrytapper.com/2025/09/25/j... I am sorry to hear that Jonathan Clements has died . I have read with some humility the obituary he has written for himself.

"There has to be a halfway house. The government has to be able to release some of the funds for the benefit of PPF members without committing itself irrevocably".

Jonathan Clements – a gentle and sensitive financial writer I am sorry to hear that Jonathan Clements has died . I have read with some humility the obituary he has written for himself. It includes a couple of paragraphs about his schooldays, he hated where we went to, he has shown Bryanston what…

An ever more sophisticated annuity purchaser? Mark Ormston is a superhero There is a great report from the FCA hiding behind Mark's comments and you can check it out more easily using this link to the FCA website. Mark is modest for the annuities his firm , Retirement Line are brokers .  The story…

“Other people’s money” – The PPF’s shocking surplus Al Meeks has posted this blog on Linked in I am pleased this question is being asked because there are many in my circle who think there is too much insurance and insufficient initiative. For many companies, buy-out is not affordable, they must…

Insurers mobbed by small DB plans; – but £bn + business is drying up Thanks to Martin Richmond of Professional Pensions and Charlie Finch of LCP for giving us a heads up on the shift towards insurance in 2025. Bulk Purchase Annuities are being exchanged for the assets of small DB pension plans but…

Has anyone asked employers - what pensions they want for their staff? henrytapper.com/2025/09/24/h... Large employers with an history of pension provision for their staff have now decided to either provide staff with "pensions" or to rely on master trusts to do it for them.

Let pensions be open to the new ideas upon us! henrytapper.com/2025/09/24/l... Ten years ago we were recovering from a financial crisis and in ten years we will either be a technology superpower or have missed the boat.

Let pensions be open to the new ideas upon us! Can you remember what you thought was important ten years ago? It wouldn't have included Nvidia and Open AI. Where the money goes for the data centers to make artificial intelligence advance is becoming clear. The money is going to Nvidia, a few of…

Has anyone asked employers – what pensions they want for their staff? When you look at the mastertrust list you can see that the large employers with an history of pension provision for their staff have now decided to either provide staff with "pensions" or will rely on master trusts. What are the…

Worth talking about an epic retirement with Bec Wilson! She recognises that there are prime years for saving and they are from the point where we have financial security from work and inheritances.

Worth talking about an epic retirement with Bec Wilson! We had a gripping session this morning with Bec Wilson, who is coming to Britain to talk to us of an epic retirement. Bec has got a column to fill in the Times and a reputation down under to repeat in the UK. Her approach is not technical, it…

Tax free cash? Taken advice? Panicking? henrytapper.com/2025/09/23/t... We act because we consider it good advice to take our money tax-free while we can. We act on what we hear as advice and are accused of acting in panic. This is the terrible mess we are in with our pensions!

Tax free cash? Taken advice? Panicking? I find it hard to justify my blog pushing back on this work But I fear I'll have to! First the phrase "still in work" applies to many people who have "retired". Not many people say they've stopped working and those who do (witness Damian Stancombe) find…

Let's look forward to our prime - today!

Bec Wilson wants an Epic Retirement – 10.30 am today (click for details). To join the coffee morning click here at 10.30 today  (23rd Sept) This lady is helping us digest pensions on the Pension Playpen's coffee morning on Tuesday 23rd September (Today). Click here for entry I've spoken to a few…

PPF confirms general levy for 2025/26 (there isn't one). henrytapper.com/2025/09/22/p... “SME Sponsors are mightily relieved by the PPF Board’s decision to suspend the Levy. Our Consultation Group has found the PPF the most transparent and engaging in the pension labyrinth

Pensioners- most at risk – have no idea what’s going on. I have blogged on this speech recently and it's good to see a UK insurer (M&G) putting clear blue water between us and Bermuda (pun intended). I am not sure whether any of my readers is in the process of buying in Bulk Annuities or even…

Targeted support’s not for specialists nor the sandbox – it’s how we get things done. Let me not cast stones at advisers , I haven't been active in the consultation the FCA has had with the groups it feels will offer "targeted support". Here is the latest why and who they have wanted feedback and…

PPF confirms levy for 2025/26 (there isn’t one). PPF decision saves £45m for UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes Benefits nearly 5,000 DB schemes and their sponsoring employers Marks significant milestone on PPF’s journey to financial self sufficiency Move supports government’s pension reforms…

To get to the coffee morning use this blog's link at 10.30 am on Tuesday Tomorrow (23rd Sept)

Aussie’s secret jewel on epic retirement – Bec TOMORROW Tuesday! This lady is helping us digest pensions on the Pension Playpen's coffee morning on Tuesday 23rd September (Tomorrow - Tuesday). Click here for entry I've spoken to a few times on the web and spent too long on her site.  Next month at…

There are advisers, platforms and wrappers between the investment and the investor and that seems dangerous. Few of us really have the capacity to lock money away in “long-term assets”

While I’m delighted that Australia are holding the parent and America pumping in money, I am sure there is space for us to invest in our own back yard

NatWest’s acquisition of the business was aimed at diversifying its non-interest income by offering Cushon’s products to the bank’s commercial and business banking customers.

Will NatWest get back its £144m for 85% of Cushon? It's an important story if Editor John Greenwood puts his name to it. It was published on a Friday and so has had very little comment on it from a pension press (as yet) but I suspect it will have. It's the top read article on CA over the weekend…

Are retail investors misled by Private funds in Long Term Asset Funds? The FT have delivered an early warning on the liquidity of LTAFs in the wealth management, in the summer it delivered a clear warning that direct investment beats fund of funds but that only multi-billion pools can access…

Couldn’t Nscale help pay Brits’ pensions? The evidence from the FT is pointing to a UK connection for Nscale, the company that American money is being poured into (with a timely announcement last week when Trump was in the UK The Companies House application to create Nscale Global Holdings Limited…

No employer, trustee of provider is insuring the downside, the only person that could lose the benefit of tax-free cash is the saver. @stevewebb1.bsky.social

The worries we have about our pension, cash and tax To get a little sense into the discussion about the current tax free cash (TFC) and how most people are impacted by the Lifetime Savings Allowance (LSA), then we have to know that the LSA restricts the amount you can take as Tax Free Cash out of…

Let’s hope that people will stop laughing at Slough and start regarding it as they do overseas. We want the Thames Valley to match Silicon Valley. Our property to be upgraded and offered affordably.

Inter-generational fairness is a big issue that should be considered in private sector DB funds as well, whether open or closed.

I hope that this gets read by those who run our pension funds and doubt whether Britain is investable.

I read this and I found myself choking – really confronted by – the honesty of the young people talking. “It seems so daunting ” said one young woman ….”to even look into it”

Surplus funds should pay future pensions not subsidise savings plans  Response to Long-term cost of LGPS holding too much (or little) to pay pensions. PensionsOldie says: September 20, 2025 at 7.32 (Edit) Inter-generational fairness is a big issue that should be considered in private sector DB…

Thames Valley – a silicon valley? Slough homes upgraded? This is a good news story for the British property sector, for data centers and those who use them and for those who rent or rely on digital services. It is good news for everyone and it could be good news for British pension schemes if they…

Pension gaps – Alexandra Miles on what people do and could do. I read this and I found myself choking - really confronted by - the honesty of the young people talking. "It seems so daunting " said one young woman ...."to even look into it"  Then I came to the video She is on this video , I have…

@johnnytimpson1.bsky.social and I are old enough to be able to take our cash before HMRC does. I will take my cash tax-free while I can!

Are there cuckoos scrambling your (tax-free) pension nest egg? My friend Johnny Timpson put a thumbs down to an article in the Guardian - not something that I'd expect, like the snoop I am, I decided to take a look. Here's the article in the Guardian. Here's why I give the experts advising us not…

"Long-term cost efficiency isn’t just about funds not holding enough, it’s also about funds holding too much and they also reference inter-generational fairness for taxpayers" Steve Simkins

"According to Ipsos’s Global Trends Survey 2024, more than a quarter of respondents in Great Britain think a woman’s primary role is as a mother and wife, with even higher numbers agreeing in the US".