Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 7 October 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Retirement ‘expectation gap’ widens
The retirement ‘expectation gap’ – the gap between when Brits want to retire and when they actually think they will be able to – has widened in the last year, according to new research from Standard Life.
The study revealed rising living costs, pension insecurity and ongoing financial pressures as they key factors pushing expectations further from aspiration.
It shows that the average preferred retirement age for people remains at 62 – unchanged on a year ago, and a year later than in 2023, when it was 61.
AI – Where do we go from here?
In previous articles I have looked at how to overcome AI fatigue, how the human and the training aspects will always be important in advice firms, and where to start with bringing it into your business, writes Verve founder and CEO Cathi Harrison.
But what if you’ve battled the fatigue, you have a load of capable humans, you’ve given the whole AI thingy a go and… you’re just a tad underwhelmed?
What next?
FCA secures seven-year jail term for £1.3m Ponzi fraudster
A man has been jailed for seven years and six months after running a £1.3m Ponzi scheme from his bedroom.
Daniel Pugh, 35, set up the fraudulent Imperial Investment Fund (IIF) with another individual, taking money from 238 investors he largely targeted through Facebook adverts. Investors were promised implausible returns of 1.4% a day, 7% a week or 350% a year.
The FCA, which brought the prosecution, said Pugh received £96,000 from the scheme, which he spent on designer clothes, restaurants and cash withdrawals totalling £18,000.
Quote Of The Day
While the recent twists and turns in the French political story this year have only had only a fleeting impact on financial markets, there is reason for additional caution
– Colin Finlayson, investment manager at Aegon AM, on the prospects of yet another election to find a new prime minister in France
Stat Attack
The latest Second 50 research from Aegon UK shows the UK population remains strongly in favour of a gradual transition into retirement, rather than a ‘hard stop’.
It reveals:
24%
Less than a quarter of workers expect to stop working all together.
43%
By contrast, more than four in 10 expect to either change the way they work.
15%
believe they will keep working as they currently do.
9%
anticipate moving into a new role.
Source: Aegon UK
In Other News
Rathbones has launched a fund designed to help trustees balance the funding of current charitable activities while safeguarding capital for the future.
The Rathbones Charity Growth & Income Fund, is in addition to the firm’s wider offering to charities.
It provides an institutional multi-asset investment solution which aims to deliver long-term growth, reliable income and responsible stewardship.
The new Charity Authorised Investment Fund (CAIF) is actively managed by charity fund manager James Ayre, within Rathbones’ specialist multi-asset team.
TPT Retirement Solutions, one of the UK’s leading providers of workplace pensions, has appointed Ruari Grant as its new head of policy & external affairs.
In his new role, Grant will be responsible for defining and leading TPT’s policy direction and supporting the board in delivering its policy objectives.
He will work to develop TPT’s perspective on pensions industry issues and the regulatory landscape through formal engagement with government bodies and influential pensions organisations.
He brings a wealth of experience to the role, having spent over 11 years working in pensions policy and strategy.
He joins TPT from Pensions UK where he was most recently head of DC & Master Trust, acting as a lead on policy formation for the industry body.
Prior to his work at Pensions UK, Grant spent seven years at Standard Life Aberdeen, working as a public affairs associate and digital strategy consultant.
Vietnam braces for FTSE decision on market upgrade (Reuters)
UK house prices post first decline since May (Bloomberg)
‘Big data’ helps HMRC increase UK tax haul by £4.6bn (Financial Times)
Did You See?
Standard Life has launched a new affordable pensions savings advice service for customers.
Standard Life Financial Advice aims to help those who would not “usually consider paid advice gain access to the support they need when saving and deciding how to take their pension income.”
The service is primarily targeting existing Standard Life customers from the age of 54 years and nine months and with a minimum of £50,000 saved in a defined contribution (DC) pension pot.
It will support customers with decisions such as how to structure their retirement income, the level of investment risk they should take in retirement and how to take tax free cash from their pension.
Customers can access tailored financial advice for a single flat fee of £1,000, regardless of pot size, with an optional annual review also available for £500 per review.
