May 2020
20May

UK. True scale of pension scams unknown, think tank warns

The "true scale" of pension scams remains unknown as only a minority are reported and data is not collected in comparable ways across the industry, the Pensions Policy Institute has warned. A policy paper from the PPI, published yesterday (May 19), found data available about the number of scams taking place across the industry, as well as the amount lost in each scam, did not offer a comprehensive view of the true scale of the issue. It warned this...

May 20, 2020
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19May

ESG regulations and their impact on advice

There are regulatory changes afoot in the world of responsible investment, which are going to have a fundamental impact on the advice process. Since 2018, there have been over 170 ESG (environmental, social and governance) related regulatory measures proposed globally - that is more than the previous six years combined. In 2018, the European Union also published a recommendation to make ESG investing easier across Europe. This was through the European Commission making a formal request to the...

May 19, 2020
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18May

UK. Pension savers unable to move their cash as trustees use emergency powers

Savers who want to ditch defined benefit pensions as their employers struggle to survive may find themselves trapped by trustees using emergency powers to halt transfers. Businesses facing financial hardship have been the first to see trustees of their staff pension funds block members from moving their cash for three months during the pandemic. This stops anyone wanting to transfer out of defined benefit pensions, which pay a guaranteed income in retirement, into more flexible but riskier “defined...

May 18, 2020
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18May

EC summons Netherlands for taxing pensions moving abroad

The European Commission has summoned the Netherlands to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for taxing pensions moving abroad. It argued that the taxation conflicts with the principle of free movement of capital. According to the EC, workers must be able to transfer pension capital to another member state, even if the country of destination allows taking out a lump sum of up to the entire pension entitlement. Twelve member states, including Germany, Belgium and Denmark, have already introduced...

May 18, 2020
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15May

How the UK pensions industry is paving the way for open data sharing ecosystems

As consumer expectations around digital services increase, businesses across every sector are looking to meet a growing demand for better, and more user-friendly, applications of data. The Covid-19 pandemic has only accelerated this shift to digital as traditionally offline activities move online, and businesses are racing to stay ahead of both their customers and their competitors. The UK pensions industry might not seem an obvious place to look for inspiration about how to adapt to digital transformation, but that...

May 15, 2020
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14May

UK. Govt told to scrap pensions triple lock to reduce virus debt

The pensions triple lock could be scrapped in the near future as the government looks to recoup the hundreds of billions of pounds it has spent on Covid-19 support. According to a Treasury document dated May 5, seen by the Telegraph, chancellor Rishi Sunak has been advised to break one of the Conservatives’ manifesto pledges and scrap the pension triple lock on state pension rises. Under current rules, the state pension is increased by the triple lock which is...

May 14, 2020
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13May

UK. Women in lower-grade jobs hit by pension change ‘at greater risk of depression’

Women in lower-grade occupations forced to work up to six years longer because of changes to the state pension age are a third more likely to suffer debilitating, potentially permanent, depression, research has found. The changes to the state pension age (SPA) have also resulted in a widening gap in health between women from different occupations, according to a paper by academics at King’s College London. “Our research is important because we know that worsening mental health will lead...

May 13, 2020
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13May

Some insights from the ‘United Kingdom 2020: Workplace Pensions Consumer Study’

The "Workplace Pensions Consumer Research Report 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. 55% of all consumers have a workplace pension Over half of all consumers have a workplace pension and among consumers with workplace pensions, most (51%) have a defined contribution (DC) pension with just over four-in-ten owning a final/career average pension. 85% of adults with a workplace pension have a pension with their current employer, with 15% having legacy pensions from previous employers. This report is...

May 13, 2020
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08May

The DB landscape Defined benefit pensions 2019

By The Pensions Regulator Welcome to the fourth edition of the DB landscape publication, TPR’s annual reporton the defned beneft (DB) pension schemes that we regulate. We have taken this information from the pension schemes register on 31 March 2019 and included DB an hybrid occupational schemes with more than one member. Our publication differs from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF)’s Purple Book as their data includes only those DB scheme, eligible for the lifeboat fund. We present the...

May 8, 2020
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06May

UK Corporate Pension Funding Hammered by Pandemic in April

The accounting position of the defined benefit pension plans of the UK’s FTSE 350 companies plummeted in April as it swung from a surplus of £10 billion ($12.4 billion) at the end of March to a deficit of £52 billion at the end of the April due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from consulting firm Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey shows that liabilities of the UK’s 350 largest listed companies surged by £102 billion to £897 billion at...

May 6, 2020
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