Tag: retirement

Pirniehall Primary’s Mrs Ryan is retiring: send her your message!

After 35 years as Pirnie Headteacher Mrs Ryan is approaching her well deserved retirement!🎉💐

Did you attend Pirniehall Primary over the last 35 years or are you the parent/carer of a pupil? If so please send us a message of any good wishes, memories you have of Mrs Ryan or any pictures.

Please include your name and the year you attended.

Please send a private message to Pirniehall’s Facebook page, comment or write a message and post to Pirniehall Primary School, 4 West Pilton Crescent, Edinburgh EH4 4HP.

We would love to hear from you!

Why are women on course to have £100,000 less in their pension than men at retirement?

Let’s close the £100,000 #GenderPensionGap.

On average a woman in her twenties today is set to retire with £100,000 less in her pension than a man the same age. To make up the difference they’d have to start work a lot younger.

There a lots of reasons that the average 20 year old women is on course to have £100,000 less in her pension than a man the same age.

The amount people save into their pension is generally a percentage of their salary or income. So anything that reduces your income will directly affect your pension.

Women are more likely to face life events which negatively affect how they save for their retirement.

They’re more likely to take time out to raise a family, manage caring responsibilities, be in lower paid roles or work part time (75% of part time workers are women*).

The gender pay gap also plays it’s part so its really important to raise awareness around how these challenges can impact retirement planning, but we’re here to help and there are things you can do to help reduce the gender pension gap.

* Scottish Widows Women & Retirement Report 2020.

Gareth Shaw, Head of Money at Which?, said: “Our research has shown that women face significant disparities when it comes to saving for retirement, with mothers particularly at risk of retiring with smaller pensions – potentially tens of thousands less over their careers than men and women working full-time.

“To address this imbalance, the government should make a contribution to the pensions of first-time parents to ensure they can retire with an adequate pension pot.”

Search and rescue dog Diesel has retired

A Fire Service search and rescue dog that has responded more than 300 times to protect communities in Scotland and abroad has now officially retired.

Springer Spaniel Diesel has hung up his protective boots and doggles after helping locate casualties over the past eight years – or approximately 55 ‘dog years’.

The clever canine joined the United Kingdom International Search and Rescue team in 2012 and then the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2015.

And he was trained to use his powerful nose to move quickly through collapsed buildings or across wide areas of land to detect the live scent of an injured or trapped survivor.

Based in Portlethen, Aberdeenshire, Diesel has been working side-by-side with handler Gary Carroll who is a Crew Commander with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The pair were notably deployed to Nepal in 2015 as part of the UK’s International Search and Rescue team after an earthquake hit the region and thousands sadly lost their lives.

11-year-old Diesel was the first search dog employed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and will officially hand over the lead to his protégé Mac.

Looking back at their time together, Crew Commander Carroll said: “Myself and Diesel have had a great working relationship over the years.

“I’ve had him since the day he was born and have been able to watch him grow into an incredible search dog.

“When we’ve attended incidents he’s always checking that I am ok, in the same way that I have done with him.”

He added: “He’s been a real asset and been able to help firefighters and other agencies at incidents by searching large areas in a short time frame.

“By doing this he’s able to help ascertain whether someone is within the search area – and, if not, then we can quickly move the focus onto another search area.”

Mac is a four-year-old English Springer Spaniel and has been an operational search dog with the national service since October 2019, also based in Portlethen, Aberdeenshire.

Martin Blunden is the Chief Officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

He said: “Firstly, I want to thank Diesel for his service – he’s been an important part of our response across Scotland for a number of years now.

“Even though he sees searching as a game, he’s dedicated a large part of his life to helping people when they are in need and that should be commended.

“I’d also like to thank Gary and his family for the hard work and time they have put in to training both Diesel and Mac.”

Crew Commander Carroll works as an Urban Search and Rescue instructor at the training centre in Portlethen.

Chief Officer Blunden continued: “It’s an incredible level of commitment shown by both handler and dog to be there for people across Scotland when needed.

“Whether it is the middle of the night or just as dinner is being served, a call can come in and Gary will drop anything to provide a potentially life-saving resource.”

To find out more about search dog Mac follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @sfrsdog.

Port of Leith says farewell to retiring Chief Executive

After 11 years leading the organisation, Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of Port of Leith Housing Association, will begin his retirement tomorrow.

Keith said: “I feel very fortunate and proud to have enjoyed a highly rewarding career in housing spanning four decades.

“During my time at Port of Leith Housing Association, it has been a privilege to help make a positive impact on people’s lives by providing excellent affordable homes in attractive neighbourhoods, providing welfare and money advice, and supporting people with employment and training opportunities.

“I will greatly miss working with our highly skilled and dedicated staff team and Board members, who I know are very well placed to continue this important work.”

Caitlin McCorry, Chairperson of Port of Leith Housing Association, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Keith whose unwavering dedication to making Leith the best place to be will have a lasting impact on communities in Leith and north Edinburgh.

“I, along with the rest of the Board, would like to thank him for the vast array of achievements which have been delivered under his leadership. Fresh and innovative approaches to developing the culture, diversity and leadership of the organisation, and to the design of excellent affordable homes, have attracted recognition and an impressive collection of awards. We wish him a very happy retirement.”

Heather Kiteley (previously Director of Finance & Corporate Services at Port of Leith Housing Association) was named as Keith’s successor in January.

Heather said: “I, and the rest of the staff team, will miss Keith and we are grateful that he has led our organisation to such a strong position. We look forward to being able to mark his retirement after lockdown.

“As we respond to the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic, it can be difficult to think beyond the present. However, I’m thinking about the future of the Port of Leith Housing Association Group.

“I feel very excited about working with our excellent staff, customers and members of the community to build on Keith’s work through our new five-year strategic plan which will see us provide excellent affordable homes and life-changing services in brilliant communities.”

£5 million boost for Bield retirement housing

Retirement housing developments around Scotland have been benefitting from investments made by a leading housing provider. As part of its vision for the future, Bield Housing & Care has invested more than £5 million into improving its properties over the last 12 months. Continue reading £5 million boost for Bield retirement housing

All change for pension options

But beware of pension fraudsters 

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The rules on how you can access your defined contributions pension savings from age 55 change from today. Changes to pension rules will give savers much more control over their money – but some industry experts fear that the changes will see a new wave of cold-calling, fraud and criminal activity.

The government is advising people not to take cold calls from fraudsters posing as pension professionals. Pensions minister Steve Webb – who himself was cold-called by fraudsters – acknowledges that there are risks involved with making pensions savings easier to access.

“A lot of people will have access to a lot of money come April, and there’s a bunch of crooks out there,” he said. “People should take professional advice. Pension Wise – our service – is the place to go. Not somebody who cold calls you.”

The GMB trade union is urging the Information Commissioners to crack down hard when dealing with cold callers threatening the pension pots of millions of UK savers.

GMB commented last week on the statement from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) that they are investigating claims that details of the pension pots of millions of people are being sold and ending up in the hands of cold callers. See notes to editors for statement by ICO and reports on Press Association.

Phil McEvoy, GMB National Pensions Officer, said: “This is a worrying example of the activities that look certain to accompany the new freedoms on pensions.

“History does not look kindly on pension deregulation with the mis-selling scandals of 25 years ago showing that freedoms can simply induce a feeding frenzy amongst the scavengers seeking to deprive savers of their money.

“It looks like the vultures are coming home to roost again. It is imperative that the ICO as regulator throw the book at anyone threatening the future finances of UK’s pensioners.

“ICO should not hesitate to use its power to issue penalties of up to £500,000 where marketing calls or messages cause or have the potential to cause substantial damage or distress.”

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Access your savings

From today (6 April), from age 55, you can access as much of your savings from your defined contributions pension scheme (also known as ‘money purchase schemes’) as you want under new ‘pensions flexibility’ rules.

Schemes don’t have to offer these options. Talk to your pension provider to see what options are available to you.

You can transfer your pension savings to a pension provider that offers the option that you want to use.

You can access your benefits in a number of different ways:

Lump sum payment

You can take money direct from your pension pot without having to buy an annuity or put the money into drawdown, and 25% of this sum will be tax free. This is called an ‘uncrystallised funds pension lump sum’ (UFPLS). You can take one or more UFPLS payments and these can be regular or irregular payments.

If you receive a UFPLS and this is the first time you have used the pension flexibility rules to access your pension savings, your scheme administrator will provide you with a flexible access statement.

Lifetime annuity

You can use some or all of your funds to buy an annuity that will be payable at least for the rest of your life.

You can take a tax free lump sum of up to 25% of your pension pot when you buy an annuity. This is called a pension commencement lump sum.

Flexi-access drawdown

You can put funds into drawdown. From 6 April 2015 there are no limits on how much or how little you can take from your drawdown fund each year. You can take a tax free pension commencement lump sum of up to 25% of your pension pot when you put funds into drawdown. Any drawdown payments are taxed as income.

If you receive a flexi-access drawdown payment and this is the first time you have used the pension flexibility rules to access your pension savings, your scheme administrator will provide you with a flexible access statement.

Capped Drawdown

You can continue in capped drawdown if you were in a scheme before the changes, but no new capped drawdown funds or flexible drawdown funds may be set up from 6 April 2015 onwards.

If you are in capped drawdown you may either convert your fund into a flexi-access drawdown fund or continue to take a capped drawdown pension from your arrangement. Speak to your pension scheme administrator if you want to convert to flexi-access drawdown.

You can add additional funds to your existing capped drawdown arrangements and your existing annual pension limits and review periods for capped drawdown will continue to apply. Capped drawdown payments are taxed as income.

Short term annuities

If you are in drawdown you can decide to receive benefits in drawdown by purchasing short term annuities. These are paid by insurance companies at least annually and for no more than 5 years.

Overseas pension schemes

Changes made to the legislation covering pensions savings in overseas schemes bring them in line with the 2015 changes made to the rules for UK registered pension schemes.

These changes affect:

  • qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) – schemes that can receive transfers from registered pension schemes as authorised payments
  • currently relieved non-UK pension schemes – where UK tax relief has been given on or after 6 April 2006 in respect of pension savings under the scheme

Collectively, these schemes will are known as ‘relevant non-UK schemes’ and will be subject to similar rules as UK registered pension schemes.

Tax on payments and contributions

All payments you receive from an annuity or drawdown are taxable as income. You also pay income tax on 75% of the amount of any UFPLS you receive. The amount of tax you pay will depend on the amount of payments that you receive in the tax year plus any other taxable income you have.

You’ll also pay tax on any contributions you make to your pension pot over your tax-free annual allowance.

You can find more information from GOV.UK guides on:

Further Information

Pension Wise is a free and impartial government service that helps you understand your new pension options.

Pensions: millions to benefit from impartial advice

piggyMillions of people will benefit from a right to free and impartial guidance on how to make the most of the new pensions choices that come into effect in April 2015, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced today. This follows the Westminster government’s consultation on how best to deliver the radical changes to how people access their pensions announced at the Budget.

In total 18 million people will be able to benefit from the changes to pensions should they wish to do so.

From April 2015 300,000 individuals a year with defined contribution pension savings will be able to access them as they wish when they turn 55 – subject to their marginal rate of tax.

This is the biggest change to how people access their pensions in almost a century, removing the effective requirement for many to purchase an annuity.

The consultation since the Budget has shown that these changes have been overwhelmingly well received, with individuals supporting greater freedom and choice, and the pensions and insurance industry ready for the challenge of creating new, flexible products, which better suit individuals’ needs.

The government’s response to the consultation today confirmed that:

  • the guaranteed guidance on pensions choices will be provided by independent organisations rather than pensions schemes or providers
  • even more people will be able to benefit from the new pensions flexibilities as the government will continue to allow individuals to transfer from private sector defined benefit schemes to defined contribution pension schemes – subject to two important new safeguards
  • a new override will be introduced so that pensions schemes are able to offer individuals flexible access to their savings and the pensions tax rules will be amended to allow providers to develop new retirement income products that are tailored to the needs of individual consumers

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said: “It’s right to support hard working people that have taken the long-term decision to save for their future and I’m pleased that the responses we had to our proposals on making pensions more flexible have been overwhelmingly positive.

“We’re making sure that people have the right support to make their own choice about how best to finance their retirement and I’m pleased to confirm that everyone with defined contribution pension savings reaching pension age will get free and impartial guidance on their range of available choices at retirement.”

The government wants to ensure that guidance is trusted by consumers, and the vast majority, including most of the financial services industry who responded, said that consumers would not trust guidance given by a person or organisation with a vested interest in selling a financial product or service. It will bring together a range of delivery partners, including the Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Money Advice Service (MAS), which already provide guidance and support to consumers.

People with private sector defined benefit savings will continue to be able to transfer to defined contribution schemes (excluding pensions that are already in payment), alongside two new safeguards to protect both pension schemes and the individuals transferring out.

Guidance will be offered through a broad range of channels, including web-based, phone-based as well as face-to-face, and to remain free to the consumer will be funded by a levy on regulated financial services firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have also today published a paper which consults on the elements of the guidance guarantee for which the FCA will be responsible: setting and monitoring the standards with which guidance providers will have to comply, making and enforcing rules on how contract-based schemes signpost to the guidance services, and adjusting the FCA’s existing conduct rules to support the introduction of the guidance guarantee and in response to the new flexibilities.

Two new safeguards are being introduced to protect both individuals and pension schemes in relation to defined benefit to defined contribution transfers: a new requirement for an individual to take advice from an impartial financial adviser regulated by the FCA before a transfer can be accepted; and, new guidance for trustees on the use of their existing powers to delay transfer payments and take account of scheme funding levels when deciding on transfer values.

HM Treasury

HM Treasury also published the following guide today:

Pension Reforms: Eight things you should know

Understanding the pension system can be complex sometimes. We’ve explained how the new system will work and what it means for you.

1. We’re completely overhauling the system so you can take your pension how you like

In order to create greater choice and flexibility for people who have saved hard for their pension, we announced at Budget 2014 a series of changes to how people access their pension.

From April 2015, no matter how much you decide to take out from your pension after retirement, you will be charged the normal rate of income tax you pay on your salary (so either 0%, 20%, 40% or 45%) rather than the previous tax charge of 55% for full withdrawal.

2. 25% of your pension pot will remain completely tax-free, as it was before

You’ll be able to access 25% of your pot in one go without paying any tax.

3. We previously announced this would apply just to people with ‘defined contribution’ pensions

This is a type of pension also known as a ‘money purchase’ scheme.

This is when the money you and your employer pay in is invested by a pension provider chosen by your employers. The amount you get when you retire usually depends on how much has been paid in and how well the investment has done.

4. We’ve now announced that people who have a ‘defined benefit’ scheme will benefit too

A ‘defined benefit’ pension is typically a promise of a certain level of pension in retirement which is linked to your salary.

We’ve now announced that people in the private sector or in a funded public sector scheme will still be able to transfer from a defined benefit pension scheme to a defined contribution one if they want to, meaning they can benefit from the changes.

This means that around 18 million people will ultimately be able to withdraw their pension flexibly should they wish to do so.

5. Everyone who will be able to take advantage of the new reforms will be able to access free and impartial guidance

This will help people make confident and informed choices on how they put their pension savings to best use.

This guidance will be available through a number of different channels – via an online tool, over the phone, or face to face. Individuals will be able to choose the channel, or mix of channels, that they find most convenient.

It will be entirely impartial, so won’t be given by anyone who could be trying to sell you a product.

6. Your pension provider or scheme will be required to tell you about the guidance and how to access it

Accessing the guidance will be arranged by your pension provider, who will be required to tell you about it.

7. The changes will come into effect from April 2015

If you are over the age of 55, or will be from April 2015, you will be able to take advantage of the new system from then.

If you’re younger than 55 then you will be able to take advantage of the new system when you do reach 55.

8. You don’t need to do anything until then

If you’re thinking about retiring soon, you don’t need to do anything in the meantime, but we’ve also made other changes to help you save until then, such as our reforms to ISAs.

You can find more information about the pension reforms by reading our factsheet we published at Budget explaining the differences between the new changes and the old system, or more details on our response to the consultation.