Tax-Efficient Pension Choices in the UK

ABSTRACTThe special tax treatment of United Kingdom pensions means that the decision on how to use pension assets is particularly involved. In particular, the ability to take up to 25% of pension assets as a tax-free cash lump sum at retirement, offers retirees opportunities to enhance their pension above that possible through the purchase of a compulsory purchase annuity (“CPA”). The tax-free cash lump sum can be used to buy a tax-efficient purchased life annuity (“PLA”), or in a phased retirement strategy. Income withdrawal can also be used to defer the purchase of an annuity until age 75 and, potentially, to generate a higher income. In this paper I compare the options available to retirees using stochastic modelling. I compare the expected excess pension and expected shortfall, both relative to the alternative risk-free pension available, to assess the various options. I find that if the maximum amount of tax-free cash is available to be used to enhance retirement income, then phased retirement offers the best risk/reward trade off. The advantage is greatest for higher-rate tax payers. As the level of tax-free cash falls, income withdrawal becomes more attractive to those wishing to take greater risks.</jats:p

Coverage probability bias, objective Bayes and the likelihood principle

We review objective Bayes procedures based on both parametric and predictive coverage probability bias and explore the extent to which such procedures contravene the likelihood principle in the case of a scalar parameter. The discussion encompasses choice of objective priors, objective posterior probability statements and objective predictive probability statements. We conclude with some remarks concerning the future development and implementation of objective priors based on small coverage probability bias

On predictive probability matching priors

We revisit the question of priors that achieve approximate matching of Bayesian and frequentist predictive probabilities. Such priors may be thought of as providing frequentist calibration of Bayesian prediction or simply as devices for producing frequentist prediction regions. Here we analyse the $O(n^{-1})$ term in the expansion of the coverage probability of a Bayesian prediction region, as derived in [Ann. Statist. 28 (2000) 1414--1426]. Unlike the situation for parametric matching, asymptotic predictive matching priors may depend on the level $\alpha$. We investigate uniformly predictive matching priors (UPMPs); that is, priors for which this $O(n^{-1})$ term is zero for all $\alpha$. It was shown in [Ann. Statist. 28 (2000) 1414--1426] that, in the case of quantile matching and a scalar parameter, if such a prior exists then it must be Jeffreys' prior. In the present article we investigate UPMPs in the multiparameter case and present some general results about the form, and uniqueness or otherwise, of UPMPs for both quantile and highest predictive density matching.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921708000000048 the IMS Collections (http://www.imstat.org/publications/imscollections.htm) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Social Death

This review will outline various ways in which the notion of 'social death’ can be understood, and how they can be related to clinical practice. The idea of social death is used to analytically represent how someone can be identified and treated as if they are ontologically deficient – meaning that they are not seen as being 'fully human.' This impacts on their position within society and how they are interacted with. This review will consider three examples of social death - often distinguished from physical or biological death - that are important for clinical practice: loss of agency and identity; treating people as if they are already dead; and, rituals and bereavement. Recognising that a distinction between social and biological death may not always be helpful, this review will suggest ways in which healthcare practitioners can minimise the likelihood of inadvertently treating someone as 'socially dead'

Social class and smoking at age 15: the effect of different definitions of smoking

Aim : To explore whether the association between social class and smoking among teenagers varies according to the definition of smoking adopted. Design, setting and participants : A survey of 2196 15-year-olds in 43 secondary schools in the West of Scotland. Measures : Current smoking status and number of cigarettes smoked, and social class based on the occupation of the head of the household. Findings : 'Current smoker' was the only category not significantly differentiated by class; the ratio of smokers from unskilled compared with professional backgrounds rose with increasingly stringent definitions of smoking. Conclusion : The extent to which teenage smoking is patterned by social class depends on the definition of smoking adopted

Gender differences in weight-related concerns in early to mid adolescence

Among adults, women are more likely than men to perceive themselves as too heavy for their height, the gender discrepancy being greatest among those within a "normal" weight range. This finding has been explained in terms of the equation of female beauty with extreme thinness. As the physical changes of puberty are differentiated by gender, with males experiencing increased skeletal and muscle mass but females a gain in fat, this life stage has been seen as key for the development of female body dissatisfaction and associated problems such as lowered self esteem and eating disorders. In this analysis we compare changes in worries about putting on weight and dieting with actual body mass index at ages 11, 13, and 15