The Financial Claims Specialisthttp://www.portalclaims.com/ As you will be aware, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has lost the court case to get bank charges back, but it is not time to give up yet - all is not lost. They may have won the battle but they haven't won the http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/bank-charges--what-next.aspx [**_Pension Release_**](http://www.portalclaims.com/pension-release/) savers have been urged to switch from the stock market to banks in consideration of annuity rates falling. With a massive FTSE 100 stock market http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/pension-and-annuity-rollercoaster.aspx Gaining access to the money in one's [**_Pension_**](http://www.portalclaims.com/pension-release/) is something that many people wish they could do. There is however, a way. Rules known as triviality rules are the http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/a-triviality-of-pension-rules.aspx With over seven million customers, the UK's largest insurer Aviva has proposed reforms to the **_pension_** system hoping to make retirement saving more flexible and current. Paul Goodwin, head of **_pensions_** http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/pension-schemes-past-their-sell-by-date.aspx Put simply, if you purchase an annuity an income will be payable until death. Some annuitants will die earlier than expected and so a ‘profit’ arises which is passed on to the remaining annuitants and is reflected http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/what-is-mortality-drag.aspx There are alternatives to purchasing an **_annuity_** when you come to retire and begin to draw an income from your accumulated funds, most notably drawdown: An income drawdown plan is a plan which allows you http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/do-i-have-to-buy-an-annuity-when-i-retire.aspx As the lending from banks and other major credit avenues become more and more sparce, some directors are utilising their **_pension_** pots to keep the business running, using something called [**_Pension Release_**](http://www.portalclaims.com/pension-release/). http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/using-your-pension-to-save-your-business.aspx It is impossible to totally cash in your **_pension_**. However, [**_Pension Release_**](/pension-release/ "") allows you to have access to a portion of your **_pension_** fund before you need the income. There http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/what-is-pension-release.aspx The banks are back in court in the latest round of the bank charges court case. What gets me is that every one knows they're going to evenually lose this case (obviously this is my opinion, but good old common http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/bank-charges-them-pesky-banks-are-back-in-court.aspx This month Portal Claims uncovered the **top 10 worst offenders** amongst the UK's banks when it comes to responding to customer complaints. These **alarming results** show how some of the UK's most well-known high http://www.portalclaims.com/blog/top--worst-bank-offenders.aspx