Why the new Pension Rules are a Scam.

atush

monkey_shoulder wrote: »

Actually, Kidmugsy, I was stone cold sober, but what I was, was angry.

I am not impressed by all this name-calling and sneering that I am getting from this forum.

I had no idea that ReAssure were some kind of dodgy company that was trying to defraud me by not making my options clear.

They told me that there was no way to access my pension pot without converting it into something called a "Retirement Account" and that this would mean that 25% was tax free but the other 75% would be immediately taxed. They sent me a booklet, entitled "Your Pension: it's time to choose", which carries the logo of the Money Advice service, and Pension Wise.

On page 14 of that booklet it clearly states that if you wish to take "flexible income drawdown", that you may take the 25% tax free but must move the rest of your funds within 6 months or pay tax on the lump sum of 55%.

Also in that booklet, there is an option "Take small cash lump sums" (page 17.) ReAssure do not seem to offer this option, and this and other details made me assume that the booklet was not a ReAssure publication, but a general text that refers to all.

I have an appointment with a financial advisor tomorrow, and will report back when I am better informed.

MS

No one was sneering, you were ranting. You admit you were angry and yet you still haven't given us much information.

If you are going to a FA, you wont come back better informed, you will just have a sales pitch to buy their product (a bit like reassure).

You need to see an IFA (I stands for independant).

xylophone

Had you considered transferring to a SIPP which would offer the flexibility you require?

Example http://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/retirement-options

TH1878

dunstonh wrote: »

They are not trying to defraud you. Their legacy contracts dont offer it but their modern contract does.



What is the date of that document? it sounds like a pre 6th April version.

Whilst I thought the OP was just ranting, it is the post April 15 version he's talking about:

http://comfy.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/system/comfy/cms/files/files/000/000/052/original/MAS-A5-YPITTC-ONLINE-APRIL-2015-3.pdf

Not too sure exactly what it's referring to - unauthorised payment charge?

Edit : appears they are referring to this - http://www.parliament.uk/Templates/BriefingPapers/Pages/BPPdfDownload.aspx?bp-id=sn02181 (section 3)

mania112

Is this right? ReAssure (notoriously useless at retirement) have a 'product' which they use to cash pensions in under the new rules?

In any case, the answer doesn't need to be 2 pages long:

If you don't want to pay tax on the remaining 75% then you can't withdraw an income - you will need to transfer the plan to a decent Drawdown provider and take the income when you feel more comfortable about doing so.

You'll be better off taking it at a much lower percentage than 75, so that:

a) You don't fall into 40% tax or more by taking it all in one year
b) You have a sustainable level of income for your lifetime.

Thrugelmir

johnbfan wrote: »

A IFA on a local radio phone-in on the new rules stated that the real purpose of the pension changes is that the government will receive over £1 billion in tax into the coffers.

How did the IFA arrive at figure? In the general scheme of the national debt a £1 billion accelerated payment to the Treasury is small beer.

mania112

Yeah there's a rule which says you must make a decision and move your pension into a post-retirement pot within 6 months of crystallising (and taking the 25% PCLS).

I don't actually know why this rule exists, but it's almost a red herring. I have never seen a case where this hasn't been the case, and I can't really think of a situation where it might be.

I wonder why this has to be legislation? Perhaps it's more aimed at DB schemes?

It could be possible when you use the Open Market Option to buy an Annuity (where the ceding scheme often pay the PCLS then transfer).

monkey_shoulder

magpiecottage wrote: »

You could always go with the old arrangement and buy an annuity - a guaranteed income for life. That too will be taxable and the insurance company will build a profit into running it for you.

However, unless you have always been willing to work for nothing, I do not think you can expect the insurance company or its staff to do so.

And if you have always worked for nothing I cannot see how you could possibly have built up a pension fund.

I do not have a problem with a fair days pay for a fair days work.

What is getting my goat is that these leeches have already taken their cut when the scheme was set up. That any change to the scheme incurred more charges and now that I want to cash it in they find a way to charge me again.

So don't give me your crap about about insurance companies working for nothing, they look after their profits first and foremost.

MS

agarnett

Not one poster has enquired what sort of product the OP had originally before it got into Reassure's clutches.

[SIZE=-2]ReAssure is a UK based closed life fund provider, servicing over 1.5 million policyholders and with more than £20 billion in assets under management.

The business employs 1700 employees in Telford, Shropshire and Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

ReAssure is part of the Swiss Re Group, a worldwide reinsurance and financial services group.

In 2011, ReAssure rebranded from Windsor Life.

ReAssure administers individual closed blocks of in-force long-term life, pensions and health business, either through reinsurance or by the purchase of an entire life insurance company and the transfer of its business to the Company.

The principal products administered are long-term life and pension products, permanent health insurance, critical illness products and retirement annuities.

1963
The Occidental Life Insurance Company Limited is originally incorporated.

1966
The business has a name change to Life Casualty & General Insurance Company Limited.

1972
Moves in to the Royal Borough of Windsor and adopts a name change to Windsor Life Assurance Company Limited.

1987
The continued growth and expansion of the company requires relocation to Telford. A new office is built and named Windsor House.

1982 – 1988
The success of growth allows acquisition of UK Life, New Zealand Life, Continental Life and Grosvenor Life. Windsor Life manages more then £75 million of funds under management.

1992
The acquisition of Gresham Life is added to the portfolio of business. Windsor Life doubles the company policy base and increases the assets of the business.

1993
Windsor life company status changed by the regulatory body from a small tier to a middle tier financial organisation. Windsor Life also acquires Aetna Life.

1995
Crown Financial Management is acquired by Windsor Life. The acquisition increases Windsor Life asset to £2 billion.

1996
There is a two block transfer of life and pensions business. The first unit is from the UK business of Lifetime, a subsidiary of Bank of Ireland. The second unit is from Combined Life, a subsidiary of Aon.

1998
The acquisition strategy continues with the purchase of RFSG (UK) plc and GAN UK plc.

2003
Swiss Re purchases Zurich Financial Services in its first overseas UK deal.

2004
Swiss Re acquires all shares of Windsor Life parent company Life Assurance Holding Company.

2005
The acquisition strategy continues with the purchase of Reassure UK and Virgin Money Life.

2006
The business of the GE Life group of companies is added to the portfolio of acquisitions.

2007
Successful migration of the business of NM Life and NM Pension Ltd, by Part VII Transfer.

2008
Barclays Life Assurance Co. Ltd is acquired. Windsor Life book of acquisitions has grown to more than £14 billion and is servicing more than one million policy holders.

2011
Windsor Life is rebranded to ReAssure. Successful integration of Barclays Life by Part VII transfer.

2012
Successful transfer of almost 300,000 policies from Alico UK to ReAssure.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-2]Current policies might be with:[/SIZE]

1. [SIZE=-2]Aegon (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
2. [SIZE=-2]Aetna (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
3. [SIZE=-2]Alico[/SIZE]
4. [SIZE=-2]Barclays Life[/SIZE]
5. [SIZE=-2]Combined Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
6. [SIZE=-2]Continental Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
7. [SIZE=-2]Crown Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
8. [SIZE=-2]GAN (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
9. [SIZE=-2]Gresham (with-profits?) [/SIZE]
10. [SIZE=-2]Grosvenor (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
11. [SIZE=-2]Lifetime (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
12. [SIZE=-2]New Zealand Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
13. [SIZE=-2]NM Pensions Tomorrow (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
14. [SIZE=-2]Reassure UK (Zurich) (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
15. [SIZE=-2]Tyndall Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
16. [SIZE=-2]UK Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
17. [SIZE=-2]Windsor Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]

Never mind - it is all grist to the mill, and so, unless we are vigilant, are we.

OP - before you go transferring anything on the whim of some posters or from an existing Reassure product to another of theirs, could you say what provider and what existing contract you have? If it is With-Profits (and with 15 out of the 17 in the above list apparently having originally sold WP products), it might well be part of what seems to have been targeted as a general industry back door secret profit trough for the best part of two decades now, especially by those outfits that have demonstrated an acquired taste for "back books"/"closed books" business. So yours might have received some creative treatment. You might not want to transfer out without understanding what was in your original product that could have been screened from your view in recent years to make it easy for you to walk away from in blissful ignorance.

Most posters don't venture to talk much about with profits because it's old hat and they never understood it anyway. Many conveniently forget (after they have urged 21 year olds to buy the things) that "old-fashioned" pensions are built up over entire careers. So for anyone now approaching 40 years service they might easily have been sold an "old fashioned" with profits pension product at any time in the first 3/4 of their working life.

Old With-Profits or Old Something different, for some reason, many posters, who have forgotten the meaning of the term "long-term business" might be surprised if you still have one and haven't been persuaded by some FA or IFA to buy something "modern" long ago

To them, pensions are a bit like used cars I suppose, and so there are apparently few classics worth keeping for ten years let alone 40. Mostly that's because the dealers charge a fortune to maintain them and are constantly pinching the good bits and even the fuel in the tanks that never came with a key in the old days I think (back doors and fuel caps could be left unlocked). Those were the days when with the right badge you'd get a salute most days from someone patrolling for your benefit.

Your old badge ain't worth a light, and the salutes are different now.

Just a thought - and even if yours isn't WP, I think it might be worth saying exactly what it is.

PeacefulWaters

agarnett wrote: »

Not one poster has enquired what sort of product the OP had originally before it got into Reassure's clutches.

[SIZE=-2]ReAssure is a UK based closed life fund provider, servicing over 1.5 million policyholders and with more than £20 billion in assets under management.

The business employs 1700 employees in Telford, Shropshire and Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

ReAssure is part of the Swiss Re Group, a worldwide reinsurance and financial services group.

In 2011, ReAssure rebranded from Windsor Life.

ReAssure administers individual closed blocks of in-force long-term life, pensions and health business, either through reinsurance or by the purchase of an entire life insurance company and the transfer of its business to the Company.

The principal products administered are long-term life and pension products, permanent health insurance, critical illness products and retirement annuities.

1963
The Occidental Life Insurance Company Limited is originally incorporated.

1966
The business has a name change to Life Casualty & General Insurance Company Limited.

1972
Moves in to the Royal Borough of Windsor and adopts a name change to Windsor Life Assurance Company Limited.

1987
The continued growth and expansion of the company requires relocation to Telford. A new office is built and named Windsor House.

1982 – 1988
The success of growth allows acquisition of UK Life, New Zealand Life, Continental Life and Grosvenor Life. Windsor Life manages more then £75 million of funds under management.

1992
The acquisition of Gresham Life is added to the portfolio of business. Windsor Life doubles the company policy base and increases the assets of the business.

1993
Windsor life company status changed by the regulatory body from a small tier to a middle tier financial organisation. Windsor Life also acquires Aetna Life.

1995
Crown Financial Management is acquired by Windsor Life. The acquisition increases Windsor Life asset to £2 billion.

1996
There is a two block transfer of life and pensions business. The first unit is from the UK business of Lifetime, a subsidiary of Bank of Ireland. The second unit is from Combined Life, a subsidiary of Aon.

1998
The acquisition strategy continues with the purchase of RFSG (UK) plc and GAN UK plc.

2003
Swiss Re purchases Zurich Financial Services in its first overseas UK deal.

2004
Swiss Re acquires all shares of Windsor Life parent company Life Assurance Holding Company.

2005
The acquisition strategy continues with the purchase of Reassure UK and Virgin Money Life.

2006
The business of the GE Life group of companies is added to the portfolio of acquisitions.

2007
Successful migration of the business of NM Life and NM Pension Ltd, by Part VII Transfer.

2008
Barclays Life Assurance Co. Ltd is acquired. Windsor Life book of acquisitions has grown to more than £14 billion and is servicing more than one million policy holders.

2011
Windsor Life is rebranded to ReAssure. Successful integration of Barclays Life by Part VII transfer.

2012
Successful transfer of almost 300,000 policies from Alico UK to ReAssure.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-2]Current policies might be with:[/SIZE]

1. [SIZE=-2]Aegon (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
2. [SIZE=-2]Aetna (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
3. [SIZE=-2]Alico[/SIZE]
4. [SIZE=-2]Barclays Life[/SIZE]
5. [SIZE=-2]Combined Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
6. [SIZE=-2]Continental Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
7. [SIZE=-2]Crown Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
8. [SIZE=-2]GAN (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
9. [SIZE=-2]Gresham (with-profits?) [/SIZE]
10. [SIZE=-2]Grosvenor (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
11. [SIZE=-2]Lifetime (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
12. [SIZE=-2]New Zealand Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
13. [SIZE=-2]NM Pensions Tomorrow (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
14. [SIZE=-2]Reassure UK (Zurich) (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
15. [SIZE=-2]Tyndall Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
16. [SIZE=-2]UK Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]
17. [SIZE=-2]Windsor Life (with-profits?)[/SIZE]

Never mind - it is all grist to the mill, and so, unless we are vigilant, are we.

OP - before you go transferring anything on the whim of some posters or from an existing Reassure product to another of theirs, could you say what provider and what existing contract you have? If it is With-Profits (and with 15 out of the 17 in the above list apparently having originally sold WP products), it might well be part of what seems to have been targeted as a general industry back door secret profit trough for the best part of two decades now, especially by those outfits that have demonstrated an acquired taste for "back books"/"closed books" business. So yours might have received some creative treatment. You might not want to transfer out without understanding what was in your original product that could have been screened from your view in recent years to make it easy for you to walk away from in blissful ignorance.

Most posters don't venture to talk much about with profits because it's old hat and they never understood it anyway. Many conveniently forget (after they have urged 21 year olds to buy the things) that "old-fashioned" pensions are built up over entire careers. So for anyone now approaching 40 years service they might easily have been sold an "old fashioned" with profits pension product at any time in the first 3/4 of their working life.

Old With-Profits or Old Something different, for some reason, many posters, who have forgotten the meaning of the term "long-term business" might be surprised if you still have one and haven't been persuaded by some FA or IFA to buy something "modern" long ago

To them, pensions are a bit like used cars I suppose, and so there are apparently few classics worth keeping for ten years let alone 40. Mostly that's because the dealers charge a fortune to maintain them and are constantly pinching the good bits and even the fuel in the tanks that never came with a key in the old days I think (back doors and fuel caps could be left unlocked). Those were the days when with the right badge you'd get a salute most days from someone patrolling for your benefit.

Your old badge ain't worth a light, and the salutes are different now.

Just a thought - and even if yours isn't WP, I think it might be worth saying exactly what it is.

You are decidedly odd.

agarnett

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

You are decidedly odd.

Too odd for your shallow take on financial services perhaps. What really is the purpose if a post like yours where you copy a lengthy post of mine intended to inform in its entirety as the very next post, and all you wish to do is label it as odd??