Tom Selby is AJ Bell's Director of Public Policy. He joined the company in 2016 as a Senior Analyst before becoming Head of Retirement Policy. He has a degree in Economics from Newcastle University.
Following his degree, Tom worked for seven years as a journalist specialising in pensions and retirement. He spent almost six years at a leading adviser trade magazine, Money Marketing, initially as a pensions reporter before becoming Head of News in 2014. He has won multiple awards for his role as a financial journalist, and was more recently nominated for Expert of the Year at the 2023 Headlinemoney Awards.
Tom is heavily involved with the PR and external communications teams at AJ Bell. His current role involves direct engagement with senior policy makers in Government and regulators. He also sits on the industry working group for the joint review of advice and guidance boundaries being conducted by the FCA and the Treasury. In the past, Tom has successfully campaigned for a number of consumer-focused reforms, including banning pension cold-calling and increasing pension allowances, and he is passionate about improving outcomes for savers and retirees.
Tom is regularly quoted in national print and broadcast media, including appearances on a weekly BBC Radio London personal finance slot. He has also appeared multiple times on BBC’s MoneyBox as an expert, as well as BBC Radio, BBC News, Sky News and LBC.
11 April 2019
Which crucial pension policies face delay after Theresa May agrees Brexit ‘flextension’?Fans of interminably dull twitter debates will be relieved to hear the process of the UK leaving the European Union could drag on until Halloween (31 October).
However, the ‘flextension’ agreed between the European Union and UK Prime Minister Theresa May could be a nightmare for retirement policy as it will push key reforms down the legislative...
17 October 2018
9 ways savers can prepare for the BudgetChancellor Phillip Hammond set the usual pre-Budget rumour mill into overdrive last week when he told journalists the current pension tax relief system is eye-wateringly expensive .
Most have taken these comments as a hint retirement savings incentives will be cut once again on 29 October – although the Government’s response to the Treasury...
19 June 2018
Will pensions be targeted to fill the £20 billion NHS funding gap?With the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warning the so-called ‘Brexit dividend’ doesn’t actually exist, the Government is facing questions over how it will find the extra £20 billion a year Prime Minister Theresa May has promised for the National Health Service.
The money is expected to come from a combination of increased Government...
17 January 2018
Carillion pensions fallout: Four things DB members should think about"The high profile failure of Carillion and the fact that all 27,000 members of the group’s various defined benefit (DB) schemes will likely go into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) will bring the viability of DB pensions into sharp focus once again," says Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell.
“With the scheme sponsor in such severe distress, many...
22 November 2017
Hammond’s hamstrung budget“The lack of any blockbuster Budget announcements for UK savers shows that Chancellor Hammond is hamstrung by a crippling combination of worsening growth forecasts, a weak Government and stalling Brexit negotiations," says Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell.
“There is a nod to younger voters with a new railcard to help 26 to 30 year olds with the...
3 November 2017
What does the first interest rate rise since 2007 mean for your finances?While a hike in interest rates from 0.25% to 0.5% might not seem like a momentous event, it is the first increase by the Bank of England in over a decade and for many investors it will be the only rise they have ever experienced.
Although this is unlikely to signal a rapid increase in interest rates in the near future, investors attempting to...
20 September 2017
Finance Bill 2017: Key takeaways for savers and investorsWith the Brexit negotiations taking centre stage and Theresa May’s decision to hold a snap general election throwing the usual business of Government into disarray, it was little surprise to see few fireworks following the unveiling of the Finance Bill 2017 earlier this month.
That said there were a couple of key changes introduced which could...
31 August 2017
Will pension scams clampdown really protect savers and investors?“Hello! I’m just calling about the accident you were involved in last week…”
Most of you have probably received a cold-call of this nature at some point in the past few weeks, with the firm on the other end of the line looking to make a claim on your behalf.
Pre-recorded messages saying you are in line for a big Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)...
24 August 2017
Crunching the numbers: How pensions and property square up for investorsTwo years ago while skiing in France I got into an embarrassingly heated debate with three Norfolk farmers about the merits of property investing versus saving in a pension. The trio were bricks and mortar evangelists and refused to even countenance the possibility investing their hard-earned cash in stocks and bonds – or even worse, paying a fund...
10 August 2017
Natural yield versus total returnWhich is the best way to maximise your retirement income?
The pension freedoms have cast renewed focus on retirement income strategies and how people make the best of their hard-earned pension pot. Senior analyst Tom Selby looks at the strengths and weaknesses of two key approaches designed to ensure savers get what they want from their drawdown...
