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Customers should not use the information to form an opinion about equity release in relation to their individual requirements.


Report finds variations in dementia care

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
The standard of care for dementia patients in the UK has been attacked by an Alzheimer's Society report.According to the study, the quality of service offered to the group across the NHS varies widely.Four in five of the nurses questioned by the Alzheimer's Society said that they had not been ... read more

Employers ‘underestimating pension deficits’

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
The true pension deficits faced by large European firms are being underestimated, a new report from French research firm AlphaValue has suggested.According to the research, 430 firms believe that the size of their collective deficits is £267 billion lower than it actually is.Examples highlighted by the firm included the pension ... read more

Pensions suffer new setback

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
The value of UK defined contribution (DC) pension plans fell by £18 billion in October 2009.A report from Aon Consulting showed that the sector suffered due to continuing volatility in the global equity markets and wiped out some of the gains made over recent months.DC pensions are generally heavily exposed ... read more

Alzheimer’s Research Trust pleased by government plan

Monday, November 16th, 2009
New ways of tackling dementia should be developed by the government, a representative of the Alzheimer's Research Trust said today (November 16th).Harriet Millward, deputy chief executive at the organisation, said that "new treatments" for the condition should be "urgently" developed.The comments come in the wake of the government's announcement of ... read more

Low Sipp returns could boost equity release

Monday, November 16th, 2009
Some high-end private pensions are offering surprisingly low rates, an investigation has revealed.Sipp customers are generating near-zero returns on cash held within their plans, the Daily Telegraph reported.The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that many pension holders have decided to liquidate stock holdings in the wake of the ... read more

Equity release plans popular among parents

Monday, November 16th, 2009
People with children make up 85 per cent of those who take out equity release plans, new figures from Key Retirement Solutions has revealed.According to the report, which analysed data from 1,761 clients, the actual demographic makeup of equity release customers defies the stereotype that the plans are more commonly ... read more

Review of UK care system welcomed by SHIP

Friday, November 13th, 2009
Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) has welcomed the government's review of Britain's care system and hopes that those in retirement will be provided with "better services".SHIP director general Andrea Rozario said that the review could lead to society ensuring that greater assistance is provided to some of the UK's most ... read more

Legislation to benefit those with equity release schemes

Friday, November 13th, 2009
Individuals on income-related benefits using an equity release scheme could benefit from recent legislative changes introduced by the government.This is according to director general of Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) Andrea Rozario, who told the Financial Times that the changes will allow equity release plans to be taken out without ... read more

More needs to be done to help retirees, survey suggests

Friday, November 13th, 2009
The majority of the British public believe that the government is not doing enough to help people in retirement.This is the finding of a new survey by Club Vita, which revealed that seven out of ten people think that more needs to be done to help older people.A further three-quarters ... read more

Grandparents’ organisations attend government summit

Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Representative organisations of grandparents are attending a cross-government summit today (November 12th) to explore the changing role of grandparents in society.High on the agenda will be discussing how employment can be combined with care of grandchildren and how families and childcare services can adapt to more effectively meet the needs ... read more