Hot on the heels of Pension Awareness Week, the past week has seen efforts to engage Brits with their savings and financial wellbeing continue amid the Money and Pensions Service’s Talk Money Week.

Continued efforts in this area are clearly needed, with recent research revealing that nearly three quarters (71 per cent) of savers are stressed about not having enough money when they retire, with younger savers aged 25-34 the most stressed.

The cost-of-living crisis has further heightened these concerns, as industry research found that two fifths (40 per cent) of over 55s who anticipated gradually moving into retirement in the next five years are worried that this could be prevented by the rising cost of living.

Efforts are already underway to encourage greater saving, however. Nest Insight and Wagestream, for instance, announced the launch of a new workplace savings research pilot earlier this week.

Following the success of the first 10 years of auto-enrolment (AE), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has also confirmed that the government intends to continue its work with employers and pension providers to further boost the amount of people saving into a workplace pension.

In particular, the DWP confirmed that the government is exploring how AE can go further to help more people save more, sooner, by abolishing the lower earnings limit for contributions and reducing the eligible age to 18.

AE reform is also one of a number of areas that industry experts have highlighted as a priority for the new Pensions Minister, following the appointment of MP for Sevenoaks Laura Trott to the role earlier this week.

Climate issues have also been a key theme over the past week, amid COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The UK Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) has launched a consultation on its proposed Disclosure Framework and accompanying Implementation Guidance, also launching a sandbox for companies and financial institutions to test implementation.

Industry organisations have also been sharing their own climate updates, with Legal & General Master Trust’s first Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report revealing that the provider is ahead of schedule on its net-zero efforts, with positive progress made towards delivering net-zero alignment across its default funds by 2050.

Standard Life also revealed that it has completed the final stage of its £15bn defined contribution (DC) asset transition into sustainable multi asset solutions, while the Essex Pension Fund also announced a £100m anchor commitment to the Stafford Carbon Offset Opportunity Fund.

Despite this progress, there have been calls for further action, with research from Make My Money Matter (MMMM) revealing that over half (60 per cent) of the pension providers surveyed have not published 2025 emissions reduction targets, while none of the schemes surveyed had a policy to end fossil fuel expansion.

Alongside climate considerations, discussion of the recent gilt market volatility has also continued over the past week, as industry organisations took stock of the liquidity issues seen around liability driven investment (LDI) strategies.

Indeed, accounts from Sainsbury's Group and National Grid revealed that some employers stepped in to support defined benefit (DB) schemes, with Sainsbury's providing a £575m loan facility, while National Grid provided a £325m loan.

The Bank of England has also emphasised the need for non-banks, as well as their counterparties such as regulators, to learn lessons from the recent gilt market volatility and subsequent liquidity issues, suggesting that a global regulatory response is needed to prevent future issues given the global nature of non-bank business models.

The need for regulatory improvements, as well as the importance of an international approach, was also highlighted by the Financial Conduct Authority, with particular concerns raised around a "gap in regulation" around investment consultants.

Further market volatility may also be on the horizon, as while the latest industry trackers have revealed continued funding improvements, concerns over the potential impact of the upcoming Autumn statement remain.

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