Steve Webb

3 days ago | thisismoney.co.uk | Steve Webb

Please can you help with this question, as I'm having difficulty in trying to understand why we have pension tax relief. Why does the Government give us 20 per cent tax relief when we are saving into our private pension pot, but then when we get to retirement age some of us will have a full state pension, which at present is just under £12,000 per year. The personal allowance is £12,570, so the Government then charges us on anything over that at the basic tax rate of 20 per cent.

1 week ago | thisismoney.co.uk | Steve Webb

My wife and I both have Sipp drawdown pensions, and we are both retired and drawing down on them. Obviously when one of us dies we have in place that the pension will go to the surviving spouse. But as we have no children or a family member we wish to leave our pensions to, after that can we choose anyone we please? For example a close friend and their children?

2 weeks ago | thisismoney.co.uk | Steve Webb

I'm approaching 55 and have the option to take 25 per cent of my private pension in December. I'm still employed and have some savings, but would like to take a lump sum of maybe 10 per cent? Is this possible and can I tap into the remaining 15 per cent anytime I want to in the next few years? Also who controls when and how much I take? Is my pension provider controlling when I reach 25 per cent or is it the DWP for example?

2 weeks ago | ftadviser.com | Steve Webb

The Department for Work and Pensions has admitted its correction exercises looking into underpayment of the UK state pension - which mainly affects women - is heading into the billions. The DWP’s latest figures suggest the total amount from this big correction exercise (which started in 2021), the new correction exercise on Home Responsibilities Protection (which started in 2024) and an earlier correction exercise on HRP, takes the total size of underpaid pensions past the £900mn mark.

3 weeks ago | thisismoney.co.uk | Steve Webb

My spirits always lift at this time of year when the sun comes out – but this spring I have an extra reason to enjoy the warmer weather. Last year, my wife Helen and I finally installed solar panels on our home, which means that sunny days boost our bank balance as well as my mood. But the bright spell comes after some pretty grey weather earlier in the year. So, do the numbers for solar panel installation really add up in cloudy, rainy Britain?