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Author Archive for: "john.read"
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The great pension rip-off

John Read By John Read Filed Under: Featured Posted: April 13, 2015

Workers and employers pay a fortune into pension schemes. Yet they put up with a system that delivers very poor value for money, explains John Read. Pension schemes face serious challenges – an ageing society and poor investment returns following the ‘Great Recession’ are just two of them. In short, pension systems have not moved […]

Tagged With: annuities, demography, infrastructure, life expectancy, National Insurance, pensions, quantitative easing, retirement, welfare

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The truth behind ‘Pensions Freedom’

John Read By John Read Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: March 25, 2015

If you intend to retire within the next year, then the best course of action may simply be not to, warns John Read. Chancellor George Osborne made a bold claim in last week’s Budget. “Last year I unlocked pensions with freedom for millions of savers,” he said. Yet the reality is very different. That so-called […]

Tagged With: annuities, budget, general election, George Osborne, pensions, Pensions Freedom

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Paying for retirement – the phrase politicians are afraid to say

John Read By John Read Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: February 19, 2015

The starting gun for the General Election has been fired, with less than 100 days to go before we vote. But, asks John Read, will the parties have the courage to discuss how future governments will pay for workers’ retirement? Financing the state pensions of the next generation of retired workers is a key challenge […]

Tagged With: Department of Work and Pensions, Institute for Fiscal Studies, National Insurance, NHS, pensions, retirement, SERPS, state pensions

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