Today over 30 delegates gathered at Stanley House for the arrival of Sir Steve Webb (former Minister for Pensions and now Director of Policy at Royal London), to listen to him deliver ‘a tour of the pensions landscape’ as guest speaker at our wealth management seminar.
Whilst the topic of pensions isn’t necessarily known for being exciting, Steve’s witty and passionate presentation style quickly dismissed all doubts, as having spent 18 years as an MP, Steve’s public-speaking abilities are second to none. Steering away from the standard PowerPoint presentation, Steve entertained the room with a little role-play, inviting the audience to imagine themselves as Chancellor Philip Hammond as well as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. The upshot of this was that the room quickly realised that the Treasury and the DWP have very different views on what to do, or not do with pension taxation and legislation. Steve went on to highlight the likely changes to the Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance, as well as the proposed introduction of a pensions dashboard.
A number of questions from within the room prompted further discussion around state pension ages and the need, more than ever, to plan well in advance. Golden nuggets to take away included voluntary national insurance payments as well as details on the ‘specified adult childcare credit’ regime which allows grandparents to increase their state pension entitlement ahead of their state pension age if they are looking after grandchildren. As ever, Steve ensured there was never a dull moment – it was a masterclass of content and delivery.
The event was opened by Antony Keen who introduced Sir Steve as well as thanking those attending for their contribution to the local chosen charity for this event, Ynot Aspire. Afterwards Neil Welsh closed the event with reference to PM+M’s 100th year celebrations and once again highlighted the need to understand your own financial journey by using the SatNav analogy – you need to know where you are now and where you are going to!
Should you wish to discuss your own pension and retirement issues, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Antony Keen using the details below. PM+M Wealth Management work collaboratively with our tax team to navigate you from the beginning to end of your pension journey, considering everything from investment choice to tax-relief, and lifetime allowance to tapered annual allowance and estate planning. Our specialists can help you to plan, understand your options and ultimately help you achieve more from whatever route you take.