The Finance Bill received Royal Assent on Tuesday (19 July), meaning that many of the proposals first mooted in the special budget on 22 June last year have now been enacted. Amongst these is the abolition of the requirement to annuitise at 75 and the introduction of Flexible Drawdown which has been available since April, but with providers unclear on the rules which govern it.
David Trenner, Technical Director at retirement income specialists Intelligent Pensions said “The previous government took nearly 4 years from the first Consultation Document of 2002 to introducing ‘Simplification’ in 2006, and there were several U turns – most notably on residential property. This government has moved swiftly and it will be interesting to see what happens when people have to address the practicalities: will it be a case of more haste less speed?
“I also wonder how quickly the regulators will react to changes such as the removal of the requirement to annuitise at 75: will they just allow clients to drift into unsuitability? I suspect the FSA could take time to adapt to the new legislation, which could store up problems for IFAs”
Contact David to discuss any of his comments from this article
