Latest News
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Facilitating regulated advice increasingly common amid trustee fears
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Short-term financial detriment not a barrier to Paris-alignment - High Court
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Pension trustees and sponsors urged to be prudent in master trust selection
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Less than half of UK savers say they care about pension charges
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Pension withdrawal rates fall amid increased economic uncertainty
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News in brief - 13 May 2022
Archive News
Less than half (48 per cent) of UK adults with a pension say they ‘care’ about the charges they pay on their pensions, new research from B&CE, provider of The People’s Pension, has revealed
Posted: 13/5/22
The High Court has confirmed that the trustees of two charitable trusts are permitted to implement a Paris-aligned investment strategy, despite the potential short-term financial detriment, in what has been highlighted as a "significant" judgment for pension schemes
Posted: 13/5/22
Pension schemes sponsors and trustees should pay attention to master trust investment returns when choosing which one to use, as there can be an over 600bps difference between the top and bottom performing providers, according to LCP
Posted: 13/5/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 13/5/22
The average quarterly withdrawal amount by PensionBee customers has declined by over 10 per cent year-on-year, from £13,132 in Q1 2021 to £11,676 in Q1 2022, the provider has revealed
Posted: 13/5/22
An increasing number of pension scheme trustees are facilitating regulated financial advice for their members, as concerns grow that the pandemic and rising cost of living will add to the significant challenges facing members and schemes.
Research from Wealth at Work revealed that nearly all (92 per cent) trustees were concerned that their members approaching retirement will be targeted by scammers
Research from Wealth at Work revealed that nearly all (92 per cent) trustees were concerned that their members approaching retirement will be targeted by scammers
Posted: 13/5/22
The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to produce a revised guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) factsheet
Posted: 12/5/22
A group of 12 UK pension funds convened by the Church of England (CofE) Pensions Board will jointly consider how to support the climate transition in emerging markets (EM)
Posted: 12/5/22
Around 18 million savers want their pension scheme to adopt climate positive policies with their asset manager to encourage companies they are invested in to reduce their carbon emissions, according to research from Make My Money Matter (MMMM) and Tulipshare
Posted: 12/5/22
The health of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK continued to improve in the first quarter of 2022, reaching a new high as of 31 March 2022, data published by Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has revealed
Posted: 12/5/22
UK pension scheme trustees have been urged to better prepare for cyber risk ahead of The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) new singular code, after research from RSM UK revealed that there had been a “significant increase” in cyber-attacks over the past year
Posted: 12/5/22
The Trans-European Port Services Limited 1974 Pension Scheme (TEPS) has agreed a £4.4m full scheme buy-in with Legal & General (L&G)
Posted: 12/5/22
Clara-Pensions has announced a commitment to ensure its investment portfolio has net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
Posted: 11/5/22
The ‘main barriers’ to DC investing in illiquid assets come from the need to offer DC members daily valuations, daily liquidity, to comply with permitted links and issues arising from performance-related fees and fee look through, the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has stated
Posted: 11/5/22
The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) is expected to publish its first report under the UK Pensions Framework, outlining a baseline for the current system, in November 2022, with plans to test some policy scenarios in the following year
Posted: 11/5/22
The pensions sector has welcomed the inclusion of the Online Safety Bill, Data Reform Bill and Financial Services Bill in the Queen’s Speech, and called for collaboration between the government, regulators and industry to protect saver outcomes
Posted: 11/5/22
The Investing and Saving Alliance (Tisa) strategy director, Prakash Chandramohan, considers what the financial services industry can do to help savers understand the role housing wealth can play in funding retirement needs and how crucial ongoing advice can be
Posted: 11/5/22
ITV has received a warning notice from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in relation to the Box Clever Group Pension Scheme for the amount of £133m, the television network’s Q1 2022 trading update has revealed
Posted: 11/5/22
Nearly one fifth (19 per cent) of UK working adults only have up to £5,000 currently saved in their pension, and a further 19 per cent do not know how much is in their pot, despite 71 per cent stating that they are interested in their pension, research from Penfold has revealed
Posted: 11/5/22
Nest has confirmed a new mandate with asset manager Amundi to help make the managing of its portfolio more efficient
Posted: 10/5/22
LCP partner and former Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, has called for an increased focus on post-retirement and announced the development of a solution aimed at improving post-retirement outcomes for defined contribution (DC) savers
Posted: 10/5/22
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been appointed to provide fiduciary management services to two UK pension schemes within the Short Brothers Common Investment Fund with assets totalling £1.6bn
Posted: 10/5/22
Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes should consider the inflation sensitivity of the asset mixes in their default portfolios amid potentially long-term high inflation rates, according to LCP partner, Paul Gibney
Posted: 10/5/22
The aggregate surplus of the UK's 5,215 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes is estimated to have increased by £29.8bn over April, the Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) latest 7800 Index has revealed
Posted: 10/5/22
The government has widened a ban on exclusivity causes for low-income workers to allow them to work multiple jobs and boost their income, although Interactive Investor (II) has raised concerns over low-paid workers' state pensions
Posted: 10/5/22
McColl’s pension schemes are to continue to receive support under the terms of Morrisons' acquisition of the retail group
Posted: 10/5/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined five directors of financial advice firms a total of over £1m and prohibited them from working in financial services after they caused “significant” losses to pension customers
Posted: 9/5/22
The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) proposals to facilitate greater investment in illiquid investments by defined contribution (DC) pension schemes could risk increasing scheme costs without improving member outcomes, LCP has said
Posted: 9/5/22
Procentia has launched Smart ISP, a solution for large pension schemes, master trusts, insurance companies or third-party administrators to support their connection to pensions dashboards
Posted: 9/5/22
Railpen has published its Stewardship Report for 2021 as part of its commitment of being in the first wave signatories to the 2020 UK Stewardship Code
Posted: 9/5/22
The trustees of the McColl’s pension schemes have written to the co-chief executive officers and chairman of EG Group, one of the leading bidders for McColl’s Retail Group, to ask the company to begin engaging with the trustees
Posted: 9/5/22
A new standard of corporate culture for investment companies has been launched in an effort to combat diversity greenwashing and create cultural change
Posted: 9/5/22
The Pensions Age Autumn Conference will be taking place in London on 15 September 2022 and is open for registration
Posted: 6/5/22
The trustees of the McColl’s pension schemes have urged any potential bidders to respect the pension promises made to members and to not seek to break the link between the schemes and the company, following news of the firm entering administration
Posted: 6/5/22
Three quarters (75 per cent) of pension schemes and institutional investors view a lack of liquidity as the main barrier to investment in certain areas of the renewable energy sector, whilst 70 per cent are concerned about high costs, research from Downing LLP has revealed
Posted: 6/5/22
Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, has completed the switch of 87,000 master trust pension scheme members to its ‘flagship’ workplace default solution, Sustainable Multi Asset Universal Strategic Lifestyle Profile (SLP)
Posted: 6/5/22
All eight UK bulk annuity insurers have set a net-zero target for their asset portfolio and almost all have disclosed interim targets on their pathway to achieving this, updated research from LCP has confirmed
Posted: 6/5/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 6/5/22
The Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to increase the base rate from 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent is likely to be good news for pension scheme sponsors and defined benefit (DB) schemes that are not fully hedged, if gilt yields continue to rise in line with interest rates, according to industry experts
Posted: 6/5/22
Pension scheme labilities could fall by as much as 2 per cent amid a continued increase in mortality rates, as a result of the indirect impact of the pandemic on the nation’s health and the cost-of-living crisis, according to analysis from LCP
Posted: 6/5/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is targeting employers suspected of failing to meet their workplace pension duties with spot check inspections
Posted: 5/5/22
The Church of England (CofE) Pensions Board is around 10 years ahead on its 2050 net-zero target despite "ongoing challenges", after significantly reducing or excluding companies that are not aligned to the transition
Posted: 5/5/22
The latest National Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Procurement Framework for Stewardship Services has been launched
Posted: 5/5/22
UK defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficits against long-term funding targets fell by £33bn to £242bn in April, according to XPS Pensions Group’s DB:UK Funding Tracker
Posted: 5/5/22
HS Administrative Services Ltd (HS Admin) has rebranded as HS Pensions Ltd, with effect from 1 May 2022
Posted: 5/5/22
Granting inflation-driven discretionary increases could add £8bn to liabilities across private sector defined benefit (DB) schemes, according to analysis from Aon, which has raised concerns over the "difficult decisions" facing trustees in this area
Posted: 5/5/22
A woman retiring at the age of 64 would have an average of £139,451, or 32 per cent, less in pension savings than a man retiring at the same age, according to PensionBee
Posted: 5/5/22
Nest has confirmed its appointment of Schroders Capital to help its savers invest in private equity
Posted: 4/5/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a consultation on its new consolidated draft enforcement policy and an updated prosecution policy
Posted: 4/5/22
UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have, on average, remained in surplus over the past month, while the accounting deficit of FTSE 350 companies’ DB pension schemes fell by £24bn in April, according to industry research
Posted: 4/5/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is facing ongoing strike action from members of Unite Union, amid claims that the FCA management has refused to listen to workforce concerns
Posted: 4/5/22
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes with a defined contribution (DC) additional voluntary contribution (AVC) facility will need to comply with the government’s ‘stronger nudge’ regulations that are coming into force from 1 June
Posted: 4/5/22
The Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa) has launched its good practice guidance on defined benefit (DB) transfers, following delays amid Covid-19 and changing legislation
Posted: 4/5/22
The Universal Office Supplies Pension Scheme has agreed a £47m buy-in with Legal & General (L&G), covering over 175 deferred members and 85 retirees
Posted: 4/5/22
The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has written to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) following the sentencing of ex-Norton Motorcycles boss, Stuart Garner, asking a series of questions on the regulator’s work relating to the case
Posted: 3/5/22
The Association of Electricity Supply Pensioners (AESP) has called on sponsoring employers of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme (ESPS) to refrain from capping pension increases in April next year at 5 per cent
Posted: 3/5/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged trustees and scheme managers to take action on pensions dashboards, warning that the project is “now moving at pace” and it will take action against intentional non-compliance
Posted: 3/5/22
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has announced the appointment of six new members to its Policy Board
Posted: 3/5/22
Defined contribution (DC) schemes should review and refine their investment approaches to shift their focus from tracking investment performance relative to market indices to targeting retirement outcomes for savers, Aon has suggested
Posted: 3/5/22
Nationwide Pension Fund, the closed defined benefit scheme for Nationwide Building Society, has completed a £172m buy-in with Canada Life
Posted: 3/5/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has confirmed plans for a number of upcoming consultations on key industry developments, while calling on the pensions industry to help prevent a cost of retirement crisis amid recent financial challenges
Posted: 29/4/22
Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of UK adults admit they focus on the early, active stages when thinking about retirement, a study from Standard Life has revealed
Posted: 29/4/22
HMRC repaid a total of £22,317,529 in Q1 2022 to people who overpaid tax when they flexibly accessed their pensions, the latest government Pension Schemes Newsletter has confirmed
Posted: 29/4/22
A large majority of fiduciary managers (FM) achieved their outperformance targets over 2021, according to analysis by Barnett Waddingham (BW)
Posted: 29/4/22
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is at a “really interesting juncture” in how its funding strategy will evolve, according to PPF head of actuarial levy and policy, Jay Khimji
Posted: 29/4/22
Digital pensions platform Penfold has announced the launch of its workplace pension, with over 100 UK businesses and over 5,000 workplace members signed up
Posted: 29/4/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 29/4/22
The Private Member's Bill on guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) conversion has been granted Royal Assent and has become the Pensions Schemes (Conversion of GMPs) Act 2022
Posted: 28/4/22
Members of the union Unite will be protesting outside the HSBC annual general meeting (AGM) on 29 April about the bank’s use of ‘clawback’ on former HSBC/Midland employees’ pensions
Posted: 28/4/22
European life and pensions consolidator, Chesnara plc, has completed the acquisition of Sanlam Life & Pensions UK Limited (SLP) for £39m
Posted: 28/4/22
The government has launched a consultation on reforms to the Solvency II regime in an effort to unlock ‘tens of billions’ of pounds of investment for UK infrastructure and green projects
Posted: 28/4/22
Fiduciary managers’ (FM) returns in 2021 were driven by strong performance in equity markets over the year, despite “a majority” pursuing multi-asset strategies, according to XPS Pensions Group
Posted: 28/4/22
The government has rejected the Work and Pensions Committee’s (WPC) recommendation to automatically enrol pension holders into an appointment with Pension Wise before accessing their retirement pots
Posted: 28/4/22
The average time taken to complete an overall pension transfer increased 45 per cent from 2018/19 to 2021/22, from an average of 9.3 days to an average of 13.5 days, according to analysis from PensionBee
Posted: 28/4/22
Industry experts have urged the government to outline a timeline for the 2017 auto-enrolment (AE) review reforms, after research revealed that more than half (57 per cent) of Brits are not saving enough to maintain their living standard in retirement
Posted: 27/4/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced that it will be publishing initial guidance to help trustees and scheme managers meet their pensions dashboards duties in May
Posted: 27/4/22
The average time to buyout for FTSE 350 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK fell by nine months over March 2022 to nine years and nine months, Barnett Waddingham has revealed
Posted: 27/4/22
Nearly half (47 per cent) of UK pension schemes do not have insurance against cybercrime attacks and 43 per cent have not tested the strength of their IT systems and procedures for cybercrime protection, according to Crowe’s Risk Management Report
Posted: 27/4/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published its Annual Funding Statement (AFS) 2022, urging defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees to ensure they have robust risk management in place and have an open dialogue with scheme sponsors
Posted: 27/4/22
The government has said that it “strongly encourages” a resolution to the ongoing concerns around the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) that delivers "good value for students, staff and providers", emphasising the need to protect student learning
Posted: 27/4/22
Lawyers working to help victims of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) transfer mis-selling scandal have questioned whether the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) proposed £71m compensation scheme goes far enough
Posted: 26/4/22
Independent Trustee Services director, Mark Evans, discusses the benefits and challenges presented by the increasing demand for professional trustees
Posted: 26/4/22
A growing number of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are considering new options or providing additional support to members as part of their GMP equalisation strategies, a survey from Aon has revealed
Posted: 26/4/22
Aegon UK has announced a £3bn investment into BlackRock’s ESG index fund range to increase the ESG exposure in its Workplace Default fund and several of its other default fund options
Posted: 26/4/22
LCP has acquired energy consultancy and subscriptions business, Delta EE, for an undisclosed sum as part of its strategy to grow and develop its energy service offering in light of the accelerated transition to a net-zero economy
Posted: 26/4/22
The National Pension Trust (NPT), part of XPS Pensions Group, has announced plans for a new environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused default investment strategy, impacting over 44,000 members and £978m in total assets
Posted: 26/4/22
Pausing pension contributions in April due to the ‘triple whammy’ of increasing inflation, a freeze in income tax thresholds and the rise in National Insurance could be dangerous for savers, Aegon has warned
Posted: 25/4/22
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has confirmed that Altus and ITM will be the first alpha participants to begin testing their connection to the pensions dashboards
Posted: 25/4/22
The average pension transfer time remained relatively constant in Q1 2022, according to figures from the Origo Transfer Index (OTI), which recorded an average overall transfer time of 13.5 calendar days, up from 13.4 in January 2022
Posted: 25/4/22
One in five people have said they would leave planning their retirement until they were aged at least 60, a survey by Hargreaves Lansdown has revealed
Posted: 25/4/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has used emergency powers to introduce new rules, without consultation, to prevent financial advice firms that advised members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) from disposing of assets to avoid paying compensation
Posted: 25/4/22
Two pension fraudsters have been jailed for a combined total of more than 10 years for their roles in a scam that saw over 200 savers tricked into transferring £13.7m into fraudulent schemes
Posted: 22/4/22
The government should investigate offering flexibility for people to start taking their state pension up to three years early, but at a reduced level to make it financially fair, Aegon has stated
Posted: 22/4/22
The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has written to the trustee of the Water Companies’ Pension Scheme following member concerns over the decision to transfer the remaining Bristol Water Section surplus to the employer
Posted: 22/4/22
The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has sent a letter the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) permanent secretary, Peter Schofield, enquiring about the department’s plans to deal with state pension underpayments
Posted: 22/4/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 22/4/22
Employers have been urged to take advantage of salary sacrifice schemes amid the rising cost of living, after analysis from Cushon revealed that savers could collectively be missing out on up to £1.9bn a year
Posted: 22/4/22
Over 1,500 members of trade union Unite employed at Transport for London (TfL) and London Underground (LU) are to be balloted for industrial action in a dispute over pensions
Posted: 21/4/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stopped another former adviser on the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), David Stock & Co Limited (DS&C), from disposing of assets without FCA permission
Posted: 21/4/22
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) has launched the Net Zero Stewardship Toolkit, which aims to provide investors with a foundational process to enhance their stewardship practices to deliver ‘rapid acceleration’ in decarbonisation
Posted: 21/4/22
Experts from across the pensions industry have warned that the cost-of-living crisis is likely to affect people’s abilities and willingness to adequately save for retirement, especially those not in scope of auto-enrolment (AE)
Posted: 21/4/22
HMRC's working group on tax challenges has provided further clarity on recent guidance on guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation and tax treatment, via the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)
Posted: 21/4/22
Industry experts have raised concerns around the limitations of auto-enrolment (AE) policy, despite figures from the Office for National Statics (ONS) revealing that around 22.6 million employees are now saving into workplace pensions
Posted: 20/4/22
Pension schemes, institutional investors and wealth managers have reported they will increase allocations to renewable energy as part of diversification strategies, a survey from Downing has revealed
Posted: 20/4/22
Pension ‘blind spots’ on investment choices and fees could cost Brits £120,000 in retirement income over a working life, according to research from Interactive Investor (II)
Posted: 20/4/22
Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of UK adults have never completed an expression of wish form, which nominates the beneficiaries of their pension benefits in the event of their death, research from Canada Life has revealed
Posted: 20/4/22
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has launched a tender to appoint a specialist firm to its Specialist Administration and Actuarial Services Panel (SAASP)
Posted: 20/4/22
The proportion of pension transfers that showed signs of a potential scam “soared” to a near-record high of 70 per cent in March, representing the third consecutive monthly increase in scam warning flags, according to XPS Pensions Group’s Scam Flag Index
Posted: 20/4/22
Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has directly invested a further £50m of debt in the London School of Economics (LSE) to fund sustainable projects, including the development of the university’s first carbon neutral building
Posted: 19/4/22
The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) has taken legal action against Uber in light of ongoing concerns that the pension provision for drivers has not been made Sharia compliant, demanding that corrective action be taken within 14 days
Posted: 19/4/22
Bfinance has become an official adopter of the Impact Investing Principles for Pensions from the Impact Investing Institute, it has announced
Posted: 19/4/22
The Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa) has published guidance on pre-employment vetting after being made aware of cases where fraud was undertaken or assisted by employees of administrators
Posted: 19/4/22
PensionBee has revealed that its median hourly gender pay gap among its staff was 1.6 per cent, while its median bonus pay gap was 0 per cent, as at 31 December 2021
Posted: 19/4/22
More than half (60 per cent) of UK pension schemes have a professional independent trustee in place, with this figure expected to increase to around 90 per cent over the next five years, according to research from Isio
Posted: 19/4/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) director of automatic enrolment, Mel Charles, discusses the regulator's latest compliance and enforcement bulletin, and auto-enrolment in the gig economy
Posted: 14/4/22
Fidelity International has launched its Stewardship Hub for pension scheme clients, trustees and advisers in partnership with Tumelo, in what has been described as a ‘market first’
Posted: 14/4/22
Over a quarter (26 per cent) of savers who have a workplace pension do not think that their current level of pension saving will be enough to live off in retirement, a survey from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has revealed
Posted: 14/4/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 14/4/22
PensionBee’s assets under administration (AuA) increased by 91 per cent in 2021, from £1.36bn to £2.59bn as at 31 December 2021, its annual report has revealed
Posted: 14/4/22
The Gordonstoun School Retirement Benefits Scheme has agreed a £6.6m full scheme buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society, securing the retirement benefits for around 30 deferred members and 65 retirees
Posted: 14/4/22/
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Waltham Forest College over its handling of an ill-health early-retirement (IHER) claim, and ordered it to pay £1,000 for the serious distress and inconvenience caused to the complainant
Posted: 13/4/22
Industry experts have raised concerns over the impact of rising inflation on savers’ abilities and willingness to contribute to their pensions, and on long-term saving in general
Posted: 13/4/22
Growth in the number of non-enrolled workers has continued to outpace growth amongst those auto-enrolled into a pension in March 2022, with the gap between the two groups more than halving over the past year, according to figures from The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
Posted: 13/4/22
Twenty-seven UK universities could face further strike action and action short of a strike in relation to concerns over proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), after the latest round of ballots from University and College Union (UCU)
Posted: 13/4/22
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes should act quickly to ‘lock in’ recent gains in funding levels, according to Hymans Robertson
Posted: 13/4/22
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has confirmed the staging timeline for pension providers and schemes to provide data for pension dashboards, following the FCA and DWP's consultation proposals
Posted: 12/4/22
Almost a third (30 per cent) of unretired women have not thought about saving for later life compared to 22 per cent of men, research by Vitality has revealed
Posted: 12/4/22
The PLSA has stated that pension dashboards need to be able to “walk before they can run” in its response to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consultation on proposed rules for pension providers
Posted: 12/4/22
Nearly two-fifths (17 per cent) of Brits are delaying their retirement for up to five years due to debt concerns, with a further 12 per cent of savers delaying retirement by up to 10 years, research from Lowell has revealed
Posted: 12/4/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and The Money and Pensions Service (Maps) have issued a joint statement warning current and former P&O employees against transferring out of the pension schemes
Posted: 12/4/22
Pension savers consider climate change more of a priority than Covid-19, although they are less willing to risk financial returns for climate commitments amid the rising of cost of living, according to analysis from Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM)
Posted: 12/4/22
The aggregate surplus of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes increased by £42.8bn to £176.4bn in March, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 Index has revealed
Posted: 12/4/22
Schroders has completed the acquisition of a 75 per cent shareholding in investment management firm, Greencoat Capital
Posted: 11/4/22
Pension pots worth a total of £37bn are lost or dormant across 1.6 million savers in the UK, research from Gretel has found
Posted: 11/4/22
Almost two-fifths (39 per cent) of institutional investors, including 41 per cent of pension funds, have or will re-evaluate their ESG approaches due to recent geopolitical developments, a new poll conducted by Bfinance has revealed
Posted: 11/4/22
Make My Money Matter (MMMM), the campaign group co-founded by filmmaker Richard Curtis, has launched a short film that aims to highlight the links between pensions and deforestation
Posted: 11/4/22
Volkswagen AG (VW) has voted to reject a climate lobbying shareholder proposal backed by seven European investors, including the Church of England Pensions Board and Sweden's AP7
Posted: 11/4/22
Mothercare has notified its defined benefit (DB) pension trustees it will not be able to pay the first instalment of the deficit recovery contributions (DRC) due this month (April) in full due to reduced cash generation following the suspension of its Russian business
Posted: 11/4/22
The number of cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) quotation requests and transfer payments have remained relatively stable throughout 2021, including a typical drop off in quotes over the New Year period, according to analysis by Barnett Waddingham
Posted: 11/4/22
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Bolton Textiles Group Limited (BTGL) after it failed to pay the correct contributions into the complainant’s pension scheme
Posted: 8/4/22
The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has highlighted two 'core areas' in the proposed pensions dashboards rules that need improvement, in its response to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consultation
Posted: 8/4/22
The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has published a report on human rights practices in the mining industry, urging investors to engage further with the relevant companies they invest in
Posted: 8/4/22
Three out of the four public service pension schemes that have received a cost cap valuation for 2016 breached the cost cap, partly as a result of McCloud remedy costs, with uncertainty as to what the impact will be on future valuations
Posted: 8/4/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 8/4/22
Legal & General (L&G) Retirement Institutional had announced plans to invest more than £2bn of pension money into affordable housing over the next five years
Posted: 8/4/22
Two-fifths (40 per cent) of Baby Boomers aged 58 and over with defined contribution (DC) pensions do not remember receiving a wake up pack, while a further 30 per cent believe they never received a wake-up pack, according to research from Dunstan Thomas
Posted: 7/4/22
Thirty-four members of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), including pension schemes Nest and the USS, have signed letters to 17 of Europe’s largest companies asking why expectations over climate-related accounting disclosures have not been met
Posted: 7/4/22
The DWP made a “series of state pension errors” prior to the current correction exercise, several of which had not previously been known to the public, a new freedom of information (FOI) request reply obtained by LCP partner, Steve Webb, has revealed
Posted: 7/4/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has pledged to focus on results and outcomes rather than being driven by processes in its new three-year strategy, holding itself accountable against published outcomes for the first time ever
Posted: 7/4/22
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has upheld a shareholder proposal that called for Amazon to publicly disclose global tax practices, payments and risks to investors
Posted: 7/4/22
Delays to the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) final regulations for notifiable events could risk leaving pension schemes and their sponsors in “limbo”, LCP has said, with further guidance and clarification still needed to address industry concerns
Posted: 7/4/22
Nearly all (97 per cent) UK pension funds and other institutional investors will increase their allocations to renewable energy over the next year, new research from Downing LLP has revealed
Posted: 6/4/22
Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa) Data Working Group chair, Kristy Cotton, discusses the progress the pensions industry has made on data quality in relation to GMP equalisation and what more needs to be done
Posted: 6/4/22
More than £250bn of defined contribution (DC) pension scheme assets could be potentially used for illiquid investment by 2030, with over £100bn specifically for infrastructure investment, analysis by Hymans Robertson has revealed
Posted: 6/4/22
HM Treasury (HMT) has confirmed that the first top-up payments for low earners in net-pay arrangements will be made by 2026/27, warning that the IT changes required to implement the plans for a top-up will be “complex"
Posted: 6/4/22
HMRC has published further guidance on transfer value top-ups and GMP conversion for guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation.
In its GMP equalisation newsletter – April 2022, HMRC addressed issues around the pensions tax implications of equalising members' benefits
In its GMP equalisation newsletter – April 2022, HMRC addressed issues around the pensions tax implications of equalising members' benefits
Posted: 6/4/22
At least 34 per cent all people who exceeded the annual allowance (AA) in 2019/2020 were members of the NHS Pension Scheme, according to analysis by Quilter
Posted: 6/4/22
The trustees of Centrica’s pension schemes have appointed Schroders Solutions as their outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) for their £10bn of assets
Posted: 6/4/22
Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, reflects on the launch of a new co-ordinated industry campaign to boost people’s understanding and engagement with their pensions
Posted: 5/4/22
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has called on the government to deliver “pensions justice” following the McCloud ruling, stating that its "lack of action" has led to the union preparing legal claims on behalf of its members
Posted: 5/4/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched an advertising campaign to boost the number of individuals claiming pension credit, amid continued scrutiny on the government’s broader strategy for increasing pension credit take-up
Posted: 5/4/22
The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NextGen Pensions that aims to create a more inclusive and diverse industry
Posted: 5/4/22
UK defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficits against long-term funding targets fell by £61bn in March 2022, according to XPS Pension's DB:UK Funding Tracker
Posted: 5/4/21
Over 30 million pension savers are being targeted in a new cross-industry campaign designed to boost people’s understanding of and engagement with their pensions, with 15 pension providers and schemes already signed up
Posted: 5/4/22
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) is on schedule with the development of pensions dashboards against the timetable it set out in October 2020
Posted: 5/4/22
The expected living standards provided by defined contribution (DC) savings in retirement improved in Q4 2021 and are broadly in line with expectations seen at the start of the year, according to Aon’s UK DC Pension Tracker
Posted: 4/4/22
Pensions have become “increasingly contested” in UK divorces, with applications for pension sharing orders increasing by 17 per cent in 2020/21, Bowmore Wealth Group has revealed
Posted: 4/4/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) former chairman, Michael O’Higgins, and Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) former inquiry chair, Phillip Evans, have announced their intentions to appeal the tribunal decision to proceed with foreign exchange (FX) class actions on an opt-in basis
Posted: 4/4/22
The aggregate surplus of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK continued to strengthen in March, almost tripling from £40bn to £110bn as of the end of the month, according to PwC’s Pension Funding Index
Posted: 4/4/22
Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of savers aged 18-30 feel they can afford to take on some risk with their pensions, even though they are many years away from retirement, new analysis from PensionBee has revealed
Posted: 4/4/22
The accounting deficit of FTSE 350 companies’ defined benefit (DB) pension schemes fell by £7bn in March to £69bn, according to Mercer’s Pension Risk Survey
Posted: 4/4/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined GAM International Management (GIML) £9,103,523 for failing to conduct its business with due care and attention, and failing to adequately manage conflicts of interest
Posted: 1/4/22
Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of Fidelity pension scheme members access their tax-free cash before their selected or default retirement age, a new report by Fidelity International has revealed
Posted: 1/4/22
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) employers have been urged to reconsider changes to the scheme, after a report from the USS trustee suggested that the level of contributions required to service the deficit had fallen to 0 per cent
Posted: 1/4/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 1/4/22
Wedlake Bell associate, Paul Ashcroft, analyses TPR's key expectations of pension trustees in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Posted: 1/4/22
Pensions are no longer seen as a ‘no go’ area in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, according to LCP, after its analysis found that £32.7bn of defined benefit (DB) pension liabilities changed hands through corporate transactions last year
Posted: 1/4/22
The former owner of Norton Motorcycles, Stuart James Garner, has been given a suspended prison sentence for illegally investing pension schemes’ money into his business
Posted: 31/3/22
The average pensioner income after housing costs (AHC) increased to £361 a week in 2020/21, up from £333 in 2019/20, although industry experts have warned that gaps remain, with further pressure on pensioner incomes likely over the coming year
Posted: 31/3/22
Employers are concerned that savers are not contributing enough to their pensions and support a minimum auto-enrolment (AE) contribution of 12 per cent, with 6 per cent paid by employers, a new survey from the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has discovered
Posted: 31/3/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has issued a £2m contribution notice (CN) to an overseas parent company to help protect a 600-member defined benefit (DB) scheme, while its use of enforcement powers during H2 2021 remained “broadly steady"
Posted: 31/3/22
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has emphasised that whilst it expects to face "significant challenges" over the next three years, it will remain "ambitious" on behalf of members and levy payers, identifying four priorities to meet these challenges
Posted: 31/3/22
Organisations will be able to test how their dashboards could work from end-user and technical perspectives as part of the alpha sandbox launched by Moneyhub, an alpha partner to the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP)
Posted: 31/3/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has stated that it will not be introducing any new regulatory requirements with the sole purpose of consolidating the defined contribution (DC) pension market in 2022
Posted: 31/3/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out plans for a compensation scheme worth £71.2m for former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) who received unsuitable advice to transfer out of the scheme
Posted: 31/3/22
Shadow Pensions Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, has stated that the Labour Party is willing to work with the government on auto-enrolment reforms if they are introduced in the next session of parliament, but warned it would vote against proposed changes to the charge cap without a “strong evidence base for change”
Posted: 30/3/22
The choice of insurer at buyout “significantly” impacts the value of DB pension scheme members’ benefits, with variations of up to 25 per cent in transfer values, analysis from Hymans Robertson has revealed
Posted: 30/3/22
A total of 18 million people are not adequately preparing financially for their later life, a new study published by Phoenix Insights has warned
Posted: 30/3/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published a consultation on proposals for defined contribution (DC) pension schemes to “disclose and explain” their policies on illiquid investment in their Statements of Investment Principles (SIP)
Posted: 30/3/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said that it will engage further with the industry as it proceeds with its proposals to exclude performance fees from the 0.75 per cent charge cap on defined contribution (DC) default arrangements
Posted: 30/3/22
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of people retiring in 2022 do not plan to give up work completely, compared to 56 per cent of those retiring in 2021 and 34 per cent of 2020 retirees, according to Abrdn’s latest ‘Class Of’ report
Posted: 30/3/22
A date has been set for the sentencing of two people charged in connection with a pension fraud case, whereby savers were persuaded to transfer £13.6m into fraudulent pension schemes
Posted: 30/3/22
Nearly one fifth (17 per cent) of pension scheme trustees feel unprepared for the forthcoming Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting requirements, according to analysis from LCP
Posted: 29/3/22
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has increased its investments in forestry by 20 per cent to £1bn over the past year
Posted: 29/3/22
Industry experts are divided as to whether a new Pensions Commission is needed amid adequacy concerns and pension saving gaps, evidence in the Work and Pensions Committee's (WPC) inquiry has suggested
Posted: 29/3/22
PTL managing director, Richard Butcher, discusses the firm's recent sale to Zedra and its processes in reassuring the members of pension schemes it looks after who raised concerns about the acquisition
Posted: 29/3/22
Allowing the use of age-related contributions in collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes could be a "game changer" in making CDC more appealing to a wider range of schemes and ensuring fairness for younger savers, according to LCP
Posted: 29/3/22
Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of drawdown plans sold in 2020/21 were bought by existing customers, the highest level since pension freedoms were introduced in 2015
Posted: 29/3/22
Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, has said he is keen to move quickly on plans to extend collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes to more savers, with a consultation on a package of prospective design principles expected "later this year"
Posted: 28/3/22
Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, considers how CDC pensions can offer a 'third way' for employers and savers, and discusses the government's plans to consult on extending the scope of CDC provision to bring the potential benefits to more members
Posted: 28/3/22
Around 50,000 members of the second British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS II) will receive a shared one-off payment of £58m after the scheme recorded a better-than-expected surplus at its 31 March 2021 valuation
Posted: 28/3/22
Asset owners who do not put enough focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are putting their clients at risk, Bank of England senior adviser, Michael Sheren has warned
Posted: 28/3/22
Zedra has reached an agreement to acquire BNP Paribas Jersey Trust Corporation for an undisclosed sum, subject to regulatory approval
Posted: 28/3/22
The Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa) has published guidance on the frequently asked questions (FAQs) that arise during the guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) equalisation process
Posted: 28/3/22
Scottish Widows has announced plans to divest a further £1.5bn in an update to its exclusions policy, including a commitment to divest from tobacco firms and tightened climate requirements
Posted: 28/3/22
British pensioners’ next 12 months are set to be “one of the toughest on record” financially due to rising inflation, according to LCP partner and former Pensions Minister, Steve Webb
Posted: 25/3/22
The Pensioner Household Cost Index, which is currently being developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) could offer a “potential solution” to the ‘mismatch’ in retirement income and price inflation, according to the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI)
Posted: 25/3/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that it has repaid £94.3m to individuals impacted by historical state pension underpayments as of 28 February 2022, having undertaken 58,809 reviews
Posted: 25/3/22
The Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) has announced plans to boost the training materials being made available to its members
Posted: 25/3/22
Financial institutions have been warned that more needs to be done in the race to net-zero carbon emissions as too few people and organisations are “walking the talk”, according to UNEP head of climate finance unit, Ivo Mulder
Posted: 25/3/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 25/3/22
Contributions to private sector defined contribution (DC) schemes increased in Q3 2021, despite similar numbers of active members, whilst the market value of pension funds rose to £2.5trn, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Posted: 25/3/22
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool, Access, had invested a total of £35bn as at the end of December 2021, its LGPS Progress Update report 2022 has revealed
Posted: 24/3/22
Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) chair, Stephen Timms, has written to Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, to request clarification on HMRC's tax treatment of pension liberation victims
Posted: 24/3/22
An increasing number of schemes are focusing on their investment approach in a bid to be ‘settlement ready’, suggesting that this is increasingly key to endgame plans and can offer several advantages when approaching the market, Aon has stated
Posted: 24/3/22
More than a third (37 per cent) of people would be willing to accept some reduction in their pension savings if their investments were made more ethically, a study by the High Pay Centre and Survation has found
Posted: 24/3/22
Whilst defined benefit (DB) pension schemes’ positions have improved since the first lockdown in March 2020, DB schemes' progress in achieving long-term funding targets may have been set back by as much as 10 years, according to XPS Pension Group’s DB:UK Tracker
Posted: 24/3/22
Almost half (49 per cent) of funds marked as 'climate-focused' do not use a climate index benchmark, according to analysis from Pensions for Purpose, with 73 per cent of active climate-focused funds instead benchmarked against the market capitalisation index
Posted: 24/3/22
The Findel Group Pension Fund has completed a £175m full scheme buy-in with Standard Life, covering around 2,000 members
Posted: 24/3/22
Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of pension savers see net-zero carbon emission pledges as disingenuous and feel they will make little difference to the climate crisis, research from PensionBee has revealed
Posted: 24/3/22
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised its estimate for the amount of tax over-55s will pay on flexibly withdrawing from their pensions in 2021/22 up to £1.7bn
Posted: 23/3/22
Industry experts have raised concerns over the impact of the Chancellor’s decision to increase the national insurance (NI) threshold to £12,750, warning that this could affect NI credits for state pensions and state pension funding more broadly.
In a Spring Statement bereft of any major pension reforms, Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, confirmed plans to ease the rising cost of living by raising the NI thresholds, in addition to a cut in fuel duty and a future cut on basic rate income tax
In a Spring Statement bereft of any major pension reforms, Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, confirmed plans to ease the rising cost of living by raising the NI thresholds, in addition to a cut in fuel duty and a future cut on basic rate income tax
Posted: 23/3/22
Millions of people across the UK “wrongly” believe they are saving enough for retirement because they are contributing the amount set out by auto-enrolment regulations, according to B&CE, provider of The People’s Pension
Posted: 23/3/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) should finalise its code of practice for the authorisation and supervision of collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes "as soon as possible" to allow employers considering CDC to move forward, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA)
Posted: 23/3/22
Flexible pension withdrawals increased to £8.3bn for the period of April – December 2021, an increase of 19 per cent compared to the same period in 2020, HMRC has revealed
Posted: 23/3/22
The government and pensions industry have been urged to do more to improve take-up of guidance, after research from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) revealed that 40 per cent of over-55s had not taken advice on accessing their pension savings
Posted: 23/3/22
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) increased by 6.2 per cent in February 2022, which could present ‘challenges’ to defined benefit (DB) pension trustees as inflation expectations rise
Posted: 23/3/22
The total number of customers advised to transfer out of DB pension schemes in the 18 months to September 2021 fell by 31 per cent compared to the previous 18 months, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to the FCA by Kroll has revealed
Posted: 22/3/22
The government remains committed to keeping the state pension triple lock for the rest of the current parliament once it is reinstated following this year’s suspension, the Work and Pensions Secretary, Therese Coffey, has announced
Posted: 22/3/22
The Air Canada Pension Trust Fund has agreed a £380m buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), covering liabilities for around 1,400 members, 40 per cent of which are yet to start drawing their pension
Posted: 22/3/22
Salary exchange schemes for workplace pensions could help employers unlock “significant cost savings” in national insurance (NI) contributions of around £20,700 each year and simultaneously boost pension pots, according to analysis by Scottish Widows
Posted: 22/3/22
The Keysight Technologies UK Limited Retirement Benefits Plan completed a £58m buy-in transaction with Just Group in December 2021
Posted: 22/3/22
The government has published the consequential and miscellaneous amendments to existing pensions legislation in relation to collective defined contribution (CDC) pensions
Posted: 21/3/22
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of institutional investors now have climate change as a central or significant factor within their investment policies, Robeco’s 2022 Global Climate Survey has revealed
Posted: 21/3/22
The Public Accounts Committee has launched an inquiry and supporting call for evidence into the handling of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), and plans to support steelworkers who might be entitled to redress
Posted: 21/3/22
Pension trustees and investment managers face "significant barriers" to align their investment strategies with the key pillars of the UK government’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan, according to Canada Life Asset Management
Posted: 21/3/22
The lack of reliable and detailed data available at individual client level on the way pension freedoms are being used has been highlighted as a “major issue” for pension product innovation in a recent panel discussion from The Pensions Net-Work (TPNW)
Posted: 21/3/22
The government has been urged to remove the £10,000 auto-enrolment earnings trigger after research from Now Pensions revealed that over half (58 per cent) of single mothers are ineligible for automatic enrolment into a workplace pension, up from 45 per cent in 2020
Posted: 21/3/22
Industry figures have warned that The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) proposed code of practice for single employer collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes could be too onerous and set a disproportionately high bar
Posted: 21/3/22
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on the government to reverse its decision to suspend the state pension triple lock ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement
Posted: 18/3/22
Industry experts have outlined their hopes for the government's upcoming Spring Statement, with changes to the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), state pension rates, and the advice/guidance boundary high on the pension sector's 'wish list'
Posted: 18/3/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 18/3/22
Some members who transferred out of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) suffered significant financial losses due to unsuitable advice and were failed to be protected by the regulated financial advice market, according to the National Audit Office (NAO)
Posted: 18/3/22
A further £100bn could be removed from the long-term liabilities of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes if longer-term gilt yields were to increase in line with The Bank of England’s recent base rate change, analysis from XPS Pensions Group has found
Posted: 18/3/22
Rothesay's bulk annuity deal volumes declined last year, with the insurer writing £3bn of new pension bulk annuity business during 2021 compared to £7bn in 2020, although it emphasised that “significant opportunities” are already being seen for Q1 2022
Posted: 17/3/22
More than two-fifths (41 per cent) of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are looking to consolidate over the next five years, new research from XPS Pensions Group has revealed
Posted: 17/3/22
The Online Safety Bill has been introduced to parliament today (17 March), in what has been highlighted as a “huge moment for the safety of all internet users”
Posted: 17/3/22
The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) has developed a retirement calculator for public sector pension scheme members that aims to help relevant workers understand benefits options information on their pensions more clearly
Posted: 17/3/22
Total pension scheme buy-in and buyout volumes reached £28.6bn in 2021, making it the third busiest year on record, according to Mercer and Aon
Posted: 17/3/22
The government will publish its proposed next steps for encouraging pension schemes to invest in more illiquid assets “in the coming weeks”, Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, has said
Posted: 17/3/22
Growth in the number of workers not auto-enrolled (AE) into a pension was more than triple that seen amongst AE workers in February 2022, according to figures from The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
Posted: 16/3/22
A total of 488 people have completed a ‘pensions safeguarding guidance’ interview since new anti-scam rules were introduced at the end of November 2021, according to a freedom of information (FOI) request from LCP
Posted: 16/3/22
Almost half (42 per cent) of trustees and pensions managers are not aware of when their scheme’s pensions dashboards staging date will be, a poll conducted by WTW has revealed
Posted: 16/3/22
Amid a constantly changing employment landscape, The Investing and Saving Alliance (Tisa) head of retirement, Renny Biggins, considers how automatic pension enrolment could be adapted to ensure it is effectively meeting the needs of employees
Posted: 16/3/22
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has published a beta version of its framework, in what has been highlighted as an “important step by the market to tackle the risk of nature loss”
Posted: 16/3/22
The CSM Limited (UK) Pension Scheme has completed an £86m full scheme buy-in with Just Group
Posted: 16/3/22
Berkshire and Buckinghamshire residents are most prepared for retirement, despite only 52.3 per cent of residents being on track for a moderate income, the Hargreaves Lansdown Savings and Resilience barometer has revealed
Posted: 15/3/22
Almost two in three (65 per cent) potential pension transfers raised at least one scam warning flag in February, according to XPS Pensions Group’s Scam Flag Index, the highest proportion in the past 12 months
Posted: 15/3/22
Millennials could already have five different pension pots, with workers aged 18-34 having had an average of five employers each, new research from AJ Bell has revealed
Posted: 15/3/22
The Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) ethnicity pay gap has decreased from 23.15 per cent to 15.6 per cent in 2021, although it also reported an underrepresentation of ethnic minority employees in senior management roles
Posted: 15/3/22
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of people aged between 58 and 75 have already taken out all of their tax-free pension lump sum, a survey by Dunstan Thomas has found
Posted: 15/3/22
The government and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have agreed a memorandum of understanding to allow retained firefighters to receive their pension entitlement from an earlier point in their careers, with their pension based on their modified scheme
Posted: 15/3/22
Broadstone Group has acquired the clients of Charterhouse Consultancy, an independent pensions administration company specialising in smaller trust-based occupational pension schemes
Posted: 14/3/22
The number of signatories to the UK Stewardship Code has grown from 125 in September 2021 to 199 in March 2022, after the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) received "substantially more" applications than expected
Posted: 14/3/22
Pension trustees should work out where the gaps are in their current governance frameworks to avoid being “caught out” when new governance requirements come into force later this year, LCP has stated
Posted: 14/3/22
The Mencap Pension Plan has completed a £61m bulk annuity transaction with Canada Life, securing the benefits of 710 scheme members
Posted: 14/3/22
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Central has instructed its external managers not to increase its existing exposures to Russia and Belarus, and is engaging with them to exit from its current exposures
Posted: 14/3/22
The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) trustee has warned scheme members to avoid relying on pension modellers that have not been reviewed or validated by the trustee, amid persisting concerns over the potential impact of upcoming changes to the scheme
Posted: 14/3/22
The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has submitted its response to the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) consultation on pensions dashboards ahead of its closure on 13 March, highlighting the core areas of the proposed regulations that need attention
Posted: 11/3/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 11/3/22
Governance, data and teamwork have been highlighted as the “three essential areas” for consideration when working across multiple pension providers and their data to deliver an amalgamated database of member data in cross-industry research
Posted: 11/3/22
More companies are reporting on their workforce over a greater number of categories, a report from the CIPD, PLSA and Railpen has revealed
Posted: 11/3/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that it will proceed with plans to increase the Fraud Compensation Levy (FCL) ceiling to 65 pence per member for master trusts and £1.80 per member for other eligible occupational schemes.
The increase, which will take effect from the 2022/23 levy year onwards, was subject to a consultation, with the majority of respondents opposing the rate of increase
The increase, which will take effect from the 2022/23 levy year onwards, was subject to a consultation, with the majority of respondents opposing the rate of increase
Posted: 11/3/22
The Combined Newell and Record Section of the Newell Rubbermaid UK Pension Scheme has agreed a £225m buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society, securing the benefits of more than 800 retirees and 900 deferred members
Posted: 11/3/22
Parcel delivery service Hermes UK has rebranded to Evri and announced that it will auto-enrol all of its 20,000 ‘self-employed plus’ (SE+) workers into a pension by the end of the year
Posted: 11/3/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has confirmed that it will take a flexible approach amid the first wave of TCFD reports and share examples of best practice later this year, although it stated that all schemes could be doing more on climate change issues.
Speaking at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) ESG Conference 2022, TPR investment consultant, Brendan Walshe, emphasised that climate change was a systemic risk and therefore "applies to all schemes"
Speaking at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) ESG Conference 2022, TPR investment consultant, Brendan Walshe, emphasised that climate change was a systemic risk and therefore "applies to all schemes"
Posted: 10/3/22
Focus on environmental issues in pensions should not completely overshadow the social issues within workforces, according to A Blueprint for Better Business CEO, Charles Wookey
Posted: 10/3/22
Investors’ actions in tackling climate change are about more than just “pure investment risk”, according to climate scientist, Dr Tamsin Edwards
Posted: 10/3/22
Pension schemes and providers could face multiple challenges in implementing pensions dashboards, with further detail on the liability model for dashboards required "urgently", according to the Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa)
Posted: 10/3/22
The authenticity gap between the reality and ambition of climate change commitments made at COP26 could place the financial sector in a "tricky situation", Brunel Pension Partnership chief responsible investment officer, Faith Ward, has warned
Posted: 10/3/22
Legal & General (L&G) secured a total of £7.2bn worth of pension risk transfer (PRT) deals across 57 transactions globally in 2021, its annual results have revealed
Posted: 10/3/22
Pension scheme trustees have been urged to tackle climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities together, ahead of the release of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) beta framework
Posted: 10/3/22
Work and Pensions Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, and Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, are working on making 2023 ‘the year of the trustee’
Posted: 10/3/22
In order to reach net zero effectively, a balance must be struck between concern for planetary wellbeing and asset investment, Phoenix Group head of climate investment risk, Hetal Patel, has commented at the PLSA ESG Conference 2022
Posted: 10/3/22
Long-term net-zero commitments are a “great starting point”, but pension schemes and companies should consider setting short-term targets to ensure they are on the right trajectory, according to Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) head of DC investment strategy, Veronica Humble
Posted: 10/3/22
Just 10 per cent of pension schemes have a standalone policy on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, research from Mercer has revealed, prompting concerns that pension schemes are playing 'catch-up' on improving ESG outcomes
Posted: 10/3/22
The stewardship discussion has “too often been too narrowly focused on the role of voting and of listed equites by asset owners, asset managers and by regulators”, Aligning Stewardship across Asset Owners and Investment Managers Investment Industry Steering Group co-chair, Archie Struthers, has stated
Posted: 10/3/22
Pension schemes should not be deterred by environmental, social and governance (ESG) data issues, industry experts have said, arguing that whilst reporting may be a case of “best endeavours” currently, this should not take away from the direction of travel
Posted: 9/3/22
An investment landscape where there are enough carbon-neutral or carbon-negative assets for investors to meet their net-zero commitments is “going to take time”, Aon DC Solutions chief investment officer, Joanna Sharples, has said
Posted: 9/3/22
Investment in emerging economies is “one of the most important things” that can be done to support the green transition, according by Transition Pathway Initiative chair and Church of England Pensions Board chief responsible investment officer, Adam Matthews
Posted: 9/3/22
Sponsoring employers should take more control of the defined benefit (DB) pension scheme valuation process ahead of forthcoming triennial valuations, according to Hymans Robertson
Posted: 9/3/22
Universities will be balloted on further industrial action over upcoming changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and pay and working conditions, University and College Union (UCU) has confirmed
Posted: 9/3/22
The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) current proposals in its consultation could risk creating ‘dumb’ pensions dashboards of limited initial use to consumers, LCP has warned
Posted: 9/3/22
The government has confirmed that paid-for fraudulent adverts will be brought into the scope of the Online Safety Bill, while also launching a consultation on a wider overhaul of how online advertising is regulated in the UK
Posted: 9/3/22
The government is preparing to regulate to achieve consistency on ESG across the private sector, according to All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for ESG chair, Alexander Stafford MP
Posted: 9/3/22
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has outlined its agenda for the year ahead, setting five key strategic goals
Posted: 9/3/22
Just over 50 per cent of UK pension funds hold some form of impact investment, a survey conducted by Pensions for Purpose has revealed
Posted: 8/3/22
As the world marks another International Women's Day (IWD), many organisations have renewed their focus on the issues facing women, with a mass of research published demonstrating the devastating gender pay gap and gender pensions gap.
Sophie Smith explores the current gender pensions gap and the need for a collective effort to drive change
Sophie Smith explores the current gender pensions gap and the need for a collective effort to drive change
Posted: 8/3/22
The aggregate surplus of the 5,215 defined benefit (DB) schemes in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 Index declined from £146.4bn to £133.6bn on a section 179 basis in February
Posted: 8/3/22
An increased cost of living and the impact of the ‘pink tax’ have been highlighted as key issues for women when saving, with research from PensionBee revealing that 14 per cent of women view life being more expensive as a key barrier to long-term saving
Posted: 8/3/22
UK defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficits against long-term funding targets increased "relatively modestly" by £7bn last month, despite total assets falling by £25bn amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, XPS Pension's DB:UK Funding Tracker has revealed
Posted: 8/3/22
Abrdn has announced that it will launch a defined benefit (DB) master trust in Q2 2022, in partnership with XPS Pensions Group
Posted: 8/3/22
Concerns have been raised that new divorce laws and processes could result in even fewer cases where pension wealth is fairly shared at the time of the divorce, with a report from LCP calling for greater research and monitoring into this issue
Posted: 7/3/22
Make My Money Matter has called on UK pension schemes and providers to stop investing in Russia and to divest from their Russian investments as soon as possible
Posted: 7/3/22
The Church Workers Pension Fund has completed a £160m buy-in with Aviva, covering 2,400 pensioner members’ defined benefit (DB) liabilities
Posted: 7/3/22
EY, KPMG and PwC have announced plans to cut ties with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, with Russian and Belarusian member firms to be removed from their global networks
Posted: 7/3/22
The government plans to proceed with its proposal to include the costs of the McCloud remedy in the cost control mechanism for public sector pension schemes’ 2016 valuations, despite widespread opposition
Posted: 7/3/22
Universities will face a further five days of strike action this month in light of planned changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the University and College Union (UCU) has confirmed
Posted: 7/3/22
More than four in five (82 per cent) young people in work aged between 18 and 22 believe that individuals in employment should start saving for retirement before the auto-enrolment age of 22, research by the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has revealed
Posted: 7/3/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has called on pension scheme trustees to be "vigilant" and talk to advisers about any action that may be needed in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent global sanctions.
The regulator has outlined a number of expectations for pension schemes, stating that trustees should take steps to consider any action they may need to take, including in relation to investments, to align with sanctions announced by the UK government
The regulator has outlined a number of expectations for pension schemes, stating that trustees should take steps to consider any action they may need to take, including in relation to investments, to align with sanctions announced by the UK government
Posted: 4/3/22
Women aged between 65 and 74 years old have saved half as much money for retirement as men the same age, analysis conducted by Scottish Widows has revealed
Posted: 4/3/22
A combination of pension tax rules and rising inflation could “put the brakes” on guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) conversion exercises, according to LCP
Posted: 4/3/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 4/3/22
Think tank Onward and nine pension firms have written to Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, calling for the extension of automatic enrolment (AE) to include younger people, part-time workers and people on lower incomes
Posted: 4/3/22
Standard Life and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have announced a three-year research initiative, which will consider global perspectives on retirement income and the needs of a diverse workforce
Posted: 4/3/22
The Rail and Maritime Transport (RMT) union has called on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to avoid making “detrimental cuts” to tube workers’ pension schemes amid ongoing strike action, although Transport for London (TfL) has said no proposals have been tabled
Posted: 3/3/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published new guidance for trustees of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes who will be in scope of the ‘stronger nudge’ regulations coming in June 2022
Posted: 3/3/22
The wider healthcare impact of the pandemic could reduce longer-term contribution requirements for FTSE 100 companies by around £5bn, potentially resulting in a £1bn reduction per year in contribution requirements, analysis from LCP has suggested
Posted: 3/3/22
‘Responding to legislation’ was the most commonly cited factor for why pension trustees and other asset owners consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their decision making, a survey conducted by Barnett Waddingham (BW) has revealed
Posted: 3/3/22
De La Rue has entered into an agreement with De La Rue Pension Trustees Limited to bring forward an actuarial valuation of the De La Rue Pension Scheme from 31 December 2022 to as at 5 April 2021
Posted: 3/3/22
Aspira Corporate Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of LEBC Holdings, has acquired bespoke pensions and employee advisory firm Demna Consulting Limited for an undisclosed fee, subject to regulatory approval
Posted: 3/3/21
The accounting deficit of FTSE 350 companies’ defined benefit (DB) pension schemes fell by £4bn in February to £76bn, despite inflationary concerns and global market uncertainty, according to Mercer’s Pension Risk Survey
Posted: 3/3/22
Several pension schemes and financial institutions are looking to halt or cut their investments in Russian-linked assets following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine
Posted: 2/3/22
BritainThinks associate partner, Carol McNaughton Nicholls, discusses the importance of the design, marketing and functionality of pensions dashboards to improve consumer engagement
Posted: 2/3/22
Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes do not know the projected outcome for a typical member at retirement, research from Aon has found
Posted: 2/3/22
The government has faced further calls from MPs to push ahead with a trial for automatic Pension Wise appointments, amid continued concerns over the low member take-up of pension guidance
Posted: 2/3/22
A reduction in the auto-enrolment (AE) earnings trigger to £6,396 (the National Insurance lower earnings limit) would bring an additional 214,000 workers into scope, Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, has stated
Posted: 2/3/22
The High Court has granted university academics permission for a future hearing for both sides to determine whether a claim in relation to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) 2020 valuation process can proceed
Posted: 2/3/22
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has confirmed that it will not put a time limit on payments for the Hampshire uplift or uncapping arrears, with arrears to be paid from the time at which the affected members started to receive compensation
Posted: 2/3/22
The aggregate surplus of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK continued to grow last month, standing at £40bn as of the end of February 2022, according to the PwC Pension Funding Index
Posted: 1/3/22
Women in their early 20s have on average 5 per cent more in their pension pots than men, but by the time they reach 55 the average value of their pension pots is 46 per cent lower than their male counterparts, new data from Interactive Investor has revealed
Posted: 1/3/22
Climate change and diversity will be the most pressing issues for investment managers during this year’s AGM season, according to the new expectations on companies issued by the Investment Association (IA)
Posted: 1/3/22
The Lakeland Laboratories Limited 2012 Retirement Benefit Scheme has completed a £9m full buy-in with Just Group, covering pension liabilities for 24 deferred and 30 pensioner members
Posted: 1/3/22
Pension trustees should speak with their investment consultants and managers to assess any direct exposure to Russian investments amid global sanctions, Sackers has said, emphasising the need to consider any potential exclusions from a financial perspective
Posted: 1/3/22
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds have been urged to consider the potential implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on their investment portfolios
Posted: 1/3/22
Less than 6,000 (5,989) unique referrals took place from the MoneyHelper Investment Pathways price comparison tool from its launch in February 2021 to January 2022, a Freedom of Information request from PensionBee has revealed
Posted: 28/2/22
Just under a third (30 per cent) of people have cited 'constant tinkering with rules' as their biggest pension concern, according to a survey from Hargreaves Lansdown
Posted: 28/2/22
The medium-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on pension scheme liabilities remains “difficult to predict” due to the uncertainty of socio-economic factors that may play out over the next five to 10 years, according to Barnett Waddingham
Posted: 28/2/22
MP Richard Holden’s Private Member’s Bill on extending automatic enrolment (AE) is unlikely to complete the required parliamentary stages in time for this year’s Queen’s Speech
Posted: 28/2/22
The Private Member's Bill on guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) conversion has completed its third reading in the House of Commons and will move on to the House of Lords for consideration
Posted: 28/2/22
The sentencing hearing for ex-Norton Motorcycles boss, Stuart Garner, has been postponed to a later date, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced
Posted: 28/2/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 25/2/22
The government’s recently announced proposed reforms to Solvency II could have a “significant impact” on activity in the pension buyout market, according to LCP
Posted: 25/2/22
The High Court has approved a settlement in the case regarding ill-health early retirement (IHER) benefits in the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MNRPF)
Posted: 25/2/22
An unnamed pension scheme has completed a £12m full buy-in, covering 132 deferred members and 134 pensioners
Posted: 25/2/22
Calls for paid-for advertising to be included in the Online Safety Bill have continued to grow following a survey that found four in 10 people do not feel that social media platforms and search engines protect them from scam adverts
Posted: 25/2/22
The Dormant Assets Bill has received Royal Assent, meaning the government’s Dormant Assets Scheme has been expanded to cover additional assets from certain pensions and investments
Posted: 25/2/22
The winners of the 2022 Pensions Age Awards were announced last night at a glittering gala dinner on London’s Park Lane
Posted: 24/2/22
The government has published MP Richard Holden’s private member’s bill on extending automatic enrolment (AE) ahead of its second reading in the House of Commons
Posted: 24/2/22
Around 91 per cent of defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees think that smaller scale can result in cost disadvantages, research from Stoneport has revealed
Posted: 24/2/22
The pension pot of a typical person aged 50-64 in the UK is 58 per cent short of what they believe they’ll require, translating to a £132bn gap between expectations and reality, a report from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) has revealed
Posted: 24/2/22
The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has requested further details from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on its differing approach to paying arrears to members of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS)
Posted: 24/2/22
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has urged companies to properly disclose their climate impact in its updated Stewardship and Voting Guidelines, highlighting this as “paramount” to their future success
Posted: 24/2/22
Almost half (47 per cent) of financial advisers felt that demand for retirement advice increased more than usual due to the pandemic, Aegon and Next Wealth’s latest retirement advice report has found
Posted: 23/2/22
The government has confirmed plans to reform Solvency II regulations in an effort to unlock investment in UK infrastructure from the UK’s insurance sector, with industry experts urging the government to introduce the reforms "without further delay"
Posted: 23/2/22
Over £300bn of UK pension money is invested in companies and financial institutions with high deforestation risk, according to joint research by Make My Money Matter (MMMM), SYSTEMIQ and Global Canopy
Posted: 23/2/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has shared additional guidance to help trustees and advisers work through new duties on climate-related governance and reporting, publishing an illustrative example
Posted: 23/2/22
Defined contribution (DC) savers aged over 55 and planning plan to buy an annuity have suggested that £22,500 is the ideal retirement income, according to research from Canada Life
Posted: 23/2/22
The government plans to move to the draft regulations for multi-employer collective defined contribution (CDC) pensions in “the latter part of this year, going into next year”, Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, has stated
Posted: 23/2/22
The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) has voted to proceed with Universities UK's (UUK) proposed package of reforms to conclude the 2020 valuation of the scheme, despite ongoing strike action
Posted: 23/2/22
Buck has announced the launch of its new tech-enabled gap analysis solution, a tool that helps trustees understand the governance requirements set out in The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) new code of practice
Posted: 22/2/22
Legal & General Assurance Society (L&G) agreed an £11m buyout transaction in November 2021 with the Cornish Mutual Assurance Company Limited Staff Pension Scheme
Posted: 22/2/22
Isio has delivered a 10 per cent increase in revenue in the 12 months to 30 September 2021 to £76.6m, according to its financial results, with particular growth of 17 per cent seen in its Investment Advisory business
Posted: 22/2/22
Around 850,000 pension savers in the UK risk sleepwalking into a bond market ‘nightmare’, according to AJ Bell, due to being invested in ‘lifestyling’ funds
Posted: 22/2/22
Pension providers have been urged to invest in sex-disaggregated data sets, after research from PensionBee suggested that men may be underestimating the impact of the social and economic pressures facing women on the gender pensions gap
Posted: 22/2/22
Employers have rejected University and College Union’s (UCU) proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) that aimed to conclude the scheme’s 2020 valuation, following a consultation
Posted: 22/2/22
The introduction of pension freedoms in 2015 was arguably the biggest shake up to the decumulation phase of people’s retirement journeys this century, but are pension holders still ill-equipped to handle this relatively new-found freedom?
Posted: 21/2/22
Legislation to reduce the fixed rate of revaluation of guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) for early leavers from 3.5 per cent to 3.25 per cent per annum from 6 April 2022 has been introduced to parliament
Posted: 21/2/22
Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC) has completed a £100m debt investment with Apex Housing Association (Apex), in its first social housing investment in Northern Ireland
Posted: 21/2/22
The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) deficit declined from £12.9bn in March 2020 to £2.9bn as of the end of January 2022, although the scheme warned that the challenge remains steering an "appropriate course" for the long term
Posted: 21/2/22
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) proposal to offer non-workplace pension savers, who had not received advice, a single default fund could risk hard-wiring inertia and potentially lead to worse investment returns, AJ Bell has warned
Posted: 21/2/22
Nearly a third (30 per cent) of over 55s with private pension savings are planning to release equity from their main home as part of their retirement income funding, new research from Canada Life has revealed
Posted: 18/2/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 18/2/22
Registration for the Pensions Age Northern Conference is now open, offering pension funds and those working in the sector the opportunity to learn and network at one of the most unprecedented times in UK pensions history
Posted: 18/2/22
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has partially upheld a complaint against Teachers’ Pensions for failing to take appropriate action to adequately investigate after a member claimed that their pension was incorrectly calculated
Posted: 18/2/22
Royal Mail Group (RMG), the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite the Union have confirmed plans for a new collective pension scheme following a successful member consultation, with the scheme to be launched by the end of 2022 or early 2023
Posted: 18/2/22
Over two in five workers (42 per cent) rate a pension as their best workplace perk, new analysis from Moneypenny has revealed
Posted: 17/2/22
Around half of the UK’s £2trn defined benefit (DB) pension liabilities are expected to be insured by the end of 2031, according to analysis from Hymans Robertson
Posted: 17/2/22
DB pension transfers fell to a record low for the second consecutive month in January, falling by a further 6 per cent, according to XPS Pension Group’s Transfer Activity Index
Posted: 17/2/22
Pensions Age is delighted to invite readers to register for free for the 2022 Sustainable Investment Summit, a one-day conference that focuses on how return targets can be met through sustainable investing
Posted: 17/2/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been urged to rename additional communications for customers holding significant amounts of cash as alerts rather than warnings, in an effort to provide balanced member communications
Posted: 17/2/22
A redress scheme for members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) could be set to cost “billions”, Bovill has said, estimating that the financial advice industry alone stands to face costs of more than £300m
Posted: 17/2/22
More than three-quarters (76 per cent) of defined benefit (DB) pension trustees believe it is necessary to revisit their journey planning now endgame is in sight following the recent strong funding progress, according to the latest UK Fiduciary Management Survey
Posted: 16/2/22
More than three quarters (78 per cent) of UK retirees have not sought any professional advice on their retirement plans, a survey by Abrdn has found
Posted: 16/2/22
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the Actuarial Standard Technical Memorandum 1 (AS TM1) to reflect the new environment that will exist once pensions dashboards are in place
Posted: 16/2/22
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed it will be proceeding with its proposed changes to the NHS Pension Scheme contribution structure, although its introduction has been delayed by six months
Posted: 16/2/22
The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has increased the number of PMI Academy partners to five, confirming the appointment of three new partners: T. Rowe Price, Caceis and InvestRFP
Posted: 16/2/22
Global pension assets reached a record high of USD 56.6trn by the end of 2021, with the UK reclaiming the position of second largest pension market, according to figures from the Thinking Ahead Institute’s Global Pension Assets Study.
Posted: 16/2/22
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a consultation on plans to continue the temporary NHS Pension Scheme easements in the Coronavirus Act 2020 until 31 October 2022
Posted: 15/2/22
Buck has completed a ‘standalone’ guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation project with the Valliant Group Pension Scheme
Posted: 15/2/22
Almost half (46 per cent) of pension professionals believe that identifying and collecting the required data is the biggest challenge facing trustees dealing with the new climate regulations, Sackers has found
Posted: 15/2/22
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has signed the contract with Digidentity to deliver the interim identity service, part of the central digital architecture that will drive pensions dashboards
Posted: 15/2/22
The pension scheme for an unnamed global overseas bank has completed a £260m full buy-in with Just Group, securing the benefits for 211 deferred and 77 pensioner scheme members
Posted: 15/2/22
Universities UK (UUK) has published a consultation on University and College Union’s (UCU) proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) to conclude the scheme’s 2020 valuation
Posted: 15/2/22
Greater consolidation of smaller defined benefit (DB) pension schemes could lead to around £100m being retained for investment by UK businesses over the next 20 years, according to analysis by Stoneport, part of Punter Southall
Posted: 15/2/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stopped a former adviser on British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) transfers, AJH Financial Services, from disposing of assets without FCA permission
Posted: 15/2/22
Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees has agreed a second longevity swap deal, which will cover a further £5.5bn of liabilities in the Lloyds Bank Pension Scheme No. 1
Posted: 15/2/22
Male workers save an average of £91,465 more into their pensions than their female counterparts between the ages of 50 and 64, new research from PensionBee has revealed
Posted: 14/2/22
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes using a liability-driven investment (LDI) strategy have been encouraged to drive a 'harder bargain' with asset managers, after LCP reported saving its clients a collective £5m per annum by renegotiating fee levels
Posted: 14/2/22
Labour MP, Nick Smith, has written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) regarding the role of introducers in the British Steel pension scandal
Posted: 14/2/22
Renters are “much less” likely to be on track to have a 'moderate' income in retirement than homeowners across all age groups, according to new findings from Hargreaves Lansdown
Posted: 14/2/22
The government has been urged to increase the pension contribution limit for non-earners, which has been frozen at £3,600 since 2001, to help address savings gaps including the pensions gender gap
Posted: 14/2/22
Trustees of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) have committed to cutting the carbon emissions generated by the scheme's investment portfolio by 25 per cent by 2025, and by 50 per cent by 2030, relative to a 2019 baseline
Posted: 14/2/22
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation on requirements for pension providers ahead of the launch of pensions dashboards, highlighting provider compliance as "an essential component" to making dashboards a reality
Posted: 11/2/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 11/2/22
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has determined that the David Whitehead & Sons Limited SSAS trustee, ‘Mr L’, breached his fiduciary duty over failure to pay death benefits in a timely manner
Posted: 11/2/22
Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has published its first Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report, confirming that it reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions by 16 per cent in 2021
Posted: 11/2/22
Growth in the number of workers not auto-enrolled (AE) into a pension was more than double that seen amongst AE workers in January 2022, according to figures from The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
Posted: 11/2/22
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) employers are being consulted on University and College Union's (UCU) proposed changes to the scheme, after the USS trustees confirmed that these proposals were viable
Posted: 11/2/22
Rothesay pledged to maintain net-zero carbon emissions in its own operations for 10 years after signing an agreement with Climeworks
Posted: 10/2/22
Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) chair, Stephen Timms, has written to the Treasury to request written evidence on the third and final part of its inquiry into pension freedoms, examining saving in later life
Posted: 10/2/22
PPI head of policy research, Daniela Silcock, discusses the barriers discouraging DC schemes from investing in illiquids
Posted: 10/2/22
The report stage for the private members' bill on guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) has been scheduled for 25 February 2022, with the government also confirming that it will consult on any changes if the bill is passed
Posted: 10/2/22
Legal & General Assurance Society (L&G) has agreed a £370m buy-in with London Heathrow’s BAA Pension Scheme, securing the benefits of more than 1,400 retirees
Posted: 10/2/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a call for evidence on what metrics should be considered when setting the state pension age, to support its ongoing review of the state pension
Posted: 10/2/22
Understanding climate change impacts has been highlighted as an essential part of covenant assessment by the Employer Covenant Practitioners Association (ECPA), with trustees urged to collaborate with sponsors on climate change reporting requirements.
The report from the ECPA, Reflecting climate change impact and risks in employer covenant assessments, argued that climate-change issues are having and will continue to have an impact on the employer covenants supporting defined benefit (DB) schemes, particularly sponsor financial capacity and sponsor longevity
The report from the ECPA, Reflecting climate change impact and risks in employer covenant assessments, argued that climate-change issues are having and will continue to have an impact on the employer covenants supporting defined benefit (DB) schemes, particularly sponsor financial capacity and sponsor longevity
Posted: 9/2/22
The pensions industry could see “significant growth” in the demand for professional corporate sole trustee (PCST) appointments during 2022, according to a report from Ross Trustees
Posted: 9/2/22
Fieldfisher pensions team partner, Jeremy Harris, explains why it is imperative for trustees to have a workable transfer policy in place following the introduction of new pension transfer regulations
Posted: 9/2/22
The ‘public trust score’ for the pensions industry increased by 1.5 per cent in 2021, according to Trafalgar House’s Trust and Confidence Index
Posted: 9/2/22
A mandatory single charging structure across auto-enrolment pension providers could cost savers as much as £27,000, equal to an additional three years’ retirement income, according to analysis by B&CE, the provider of The People’s Pension
Posted: 9/2/22
Fintech pension and savings provider, Cushon, has acquired financial education firm, Better with Money, for an undisclosed sum
Posted: 9/2/22
Discussions between Royal London and LV= regarding a potential merger have ceased, Royal London has confirmed
Posted: 9/2/22
The UK pension risk transfer (PRT) market saw around £22bn of retirement income secured in H2 2021, according to Legal & General’s (L&G) latest Global PRT Monitor
Posted: 8/2/22
The government has confirmed that the minimum earnings level for automatic enrolment (AE) into a workplace pension scheme will remain at £10,000 for 2022/23, while the lower earnings limit has been frozen for the first time
Posted: 8/2/22
Corporate & Professional Pensions Limited (Corporate and Professional), a self-invested personal pension (Sipp) operator, has gone into administration after being unable to pay Financial Ombudsman Service final decisions
Posted: 8/2/22
Pension scheme trustees have been urged to consider their motivation and ultimate objectives when approaching divestment, after research from Aon concluded that divestment is “not a binary issue"
Posted: 8/2/22
The aggregate defined benefit (DB) pension surplus increased by £17.1bn last month, standing at £146.4bn as of the end of January 2022, according to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 Index
Posted: 8/2/22
Industry experts have called for the NHS scheme pays deadline for members who have breached the annual allowance to be scrapped, amid concerns that some GPs may not be able to properly evaluate their liability until after the deadline
Posted: 8/2/22
Former owner of Norton Motorcyles, Stuart James Garner, has pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching employer-related investment (ERI) rules by investing more than 5 per cent of assets from each scheme into his business, Norton Motorcycle Holdings Ltd.
Garner was accused of illegally investing money in 2012 and 2013 from three pension schemes of which he was sole trustee: Dominator 2012, Commando 2012 and Donington MC
Garner was accused of illegally investing money in 2012 and 2013 from three pension schemes of which he was sole trustee: Dominator 2012, Commando 2012 and Donington MC
Posted: 7/2/22
The deficit of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes against long-term funding targets fell by around £21bn from £328bn to £307bn in January, according to XPS’s DB:UK funding tracker
Posted: 7/2/22
Just 14 per cent of UK-listed companies with a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme issued profit warnings in the past 12 months, “significantly lower” than the 62 per cent recorded in 2020, research from EY-Parthenon has revealed
Posted: 7/2/22
Capita Pension Solutions and Intellica have extended their partnership to include data analysis for the forthcoming pensions dashboards
Posted: 7/2/22
With the cost of living spiralling, The Investing and Saving Alliance (Tisa) head of retirement, Renny Biggins, argues that the industry must redouble efforts to ensure we are adequately saving for our futures
Posted: 7/2/22
Royal London has confirmed that it is in exploratory talks with LV= over a potential merger, following the failed acquisition of the business last year by Bain Capital
Posted: 7/2/22
Industry professionals are split on the potential impact of new statutory transfer regulations, according to analysis from Sackers, with 47 per cent still waiting to see what the reality will be for both members and schemes
Posted: 7/2/22
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has stated that there is “no legal basis to pay interest" on arrears due to Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) members, in response to queries over the differing approach for FAS and Pension Protection Fund (PPF) members
Posted: 4/2/22
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has called on the government to include UK workplace pensions in its broader UK 'Levelling Up' strategy by rebalancing and increasing auto-enrolment contributions
Posted: 4/2/22
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has confirmed that ex-Norton Motorcycles boss, Stuart Garner, is set to appear in court on Monday 7 February on illegal pension investment charges
Posted: 4/2/22
The government has been urged to extend temporary tax changes for public sector key workers beyond March 2022 or face an “NHS exodus”, after a freedom of information request from Quilter revealed that over 7,000 staff could be at risk of a pension penalty
Posted: 4/2/22
The Bank of England’s decision to raise base rates from 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent could remove £100bn from the long-term liabilities of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK, according to XPS Pensions
Posted: 4/2/22
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 4/2/22
The health of defined benefit (DB) schemes in the UK reached a “new high” in Q4 2021, with the typical scheme expected to be able to fund 98.4 per cent of accrued pension benefits, according to Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM)
Posted: 3/2/22
Scottish Widows has published its roadmap to achieve net zero by 2050, also announcing plans to invest a further £3bn into BlackRock’s Climate Transition World Equity Fund
Posted: 3/2/22
Pension savers are at risk of losing out if the proposed value for money (VfM) framework is not included in pensions dashboards, B&CE, provider of The People’s Pension, has warned
Posted: 3/2/22
The Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF) has completed a second buy-in deal with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), covering £400m of liabilities across nearly 2,000 pensioners
Posted: 3/2/22
The government has announced plans to work with the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) to publish plans for increasing local investment, including setting an ambition for up to 5 per cent of assets to be invested in projects supporting local areas
Posted: 2/2/22
Universities UK (UUK) has launched a consultation with sponsoring employers of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) on a potential modification to its proposals on concluding the 2020 USS valuation
Posted: 2/2/22
The amount of money collected through taxing individuals that breached the lifetime allowance (LTA) increased by 1,068 per cent between 2010 and 2020, according to analysis of HMRC data by Mazars
Posted: 2/2/22
Disparities in pay rises could lead to further increases to the gender pension gap to £142,603, according to research by Fidelity International
Posted: 2/2/22
Pensions Age podcast: buy-outs and buy-ins for member and employer nominated trustees
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Pensions Age editor, Laura Blows, speaks to State Street Global Advisors global head of asset stewardship strategy, Robert Walker, about the company’s stewardship priorities for the year.
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