April 2020

01Apr

British Gov’t Delays Levy Hike On Pension Schemes

Pensions schemes will not have to face a planned 10% hike on their general levies due to the financial stress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the U.K. government has said. The government said Friday that it will hold off on the planned 10% increase on the General Levy on Occupational and Personal Pension schemes, which was scheduled to take effect on April 1. Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion Guy Opperman said the government wants to support businesses through...

April 1, 2020
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March 2020

31Mar

Swedish pension giant splits investment efforts and names new leaders

Swedish pension giant AP7 has restructured its investment team to split it into three new units, the Stockholm-based group has announced. A spokesperson for the institutional investor, which has $50bn (SEK 525bn) in assets under management, confirmed to Citywire Selector that its investment capabilities are now split as follows: risk management and asset allocation; alternative investments; and, fixed income and forex segments. According to AP7’s chief investment officer, Ingrid Albinsson, the split was implemented to strengthen the capabilities of...

March 31, 2020
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31Mar

UK. Regulator permits three-month pension transfer freeze

The Pension Regulator had given defined benefit transfers a three month hiatus while also allowing employers to halt contributions in response to the Covid-19 crisis. The regulator published guidance on Friday (March 27) allowing DB schemes to delay member requests to transfer out of the scheme by up to three months. This is to give trustees more time to calculate cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) as due to falling markets caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is now more...

March 31, 2020
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27Mar

EIOPA statement on actions to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus on the EU insurance sector

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) issued on 17 March 2020 a statement addressed to the EU insurance sector acknowledging the significant consequences for financial services that the Coronavirus/COVID 19 situation may cause and informing about the actions that should be taken by insurers and that will be taken by EIOPA to help insurers to curb the impact of CoronaVirus/COVID-19 on the insurance business and to guarantee the policyholders protection. These actions are focused on two main business aspects: Business...

March 27, 2020
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26Mar

Europe. Social protection pays off

If the COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world one message, it is that we are only as safe as the most vulnerable among us. Those who are unable to quarantine themselves or to get treatment endanger their own lives and the lives of others, and if one country cannot contain the virus, others are bound to be infected, or even re-infected. And yet, around the world, social-protection systems are failing miserably at safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable...

March 26, 2020
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26Mar

UK. PFS pushes for grace period on PI amid ‘evidence of serious impact’

The Personal Finance Society has called for a four-month grace period for advisers whose professional indemnity insurance is due for renewal during the coronavirus lockdown. In a letter sent to the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury this week the professional body asked for regulatory concessions to help advisers at at time when "demand for their help has never been greater, yet pressure on their own resources are stretched". This included a call for advisers to be granted...

March 26, 2020
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25Mar

UK. Parliament pension fund cuts fossil fuel investments

Parliament’s pension fund has made record investments in renewable energy and cut its exposure to fossil fuel companies to bring MPs’ pensions in line with the government’s climate action targets. A report from the £700m pension fund showed that almost a third is now being invested in low carbon and environmentally sustainable funds following calls from hundreds of MPs to align the fund with the government’s legally binding climate commitments. Read also Swedish Pension AP1 Divests From Fossil Fuels ...

March 25, 2020
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25Mar

German federation proposes standard product for private pensions

The Federation of German Consumer Organisations – vzbv – and the state of Hesse have proposed a standard product, or Extra Rente, for private pensions to reform the system. The proposal aims to fix some of the problems brought by the privately funded pension system – Riester-Rente – since its introduction almost 20 years ago, precisely at the time when the government coalition weighs up possible changes. Dorothea Mohn, head of the financial market team at Vzbv, told IPE...

March 25, 2020
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25Mar

Swedish Pension AP1 Divests From Fossil Fuels

Swedish pension fund AP1 said it will no longer invest in fossil fuel companies. The SEK365.8 billion ($35.8 billion) fund said the transition to a low-carbon economy represents a significant amount of uncertainty for companies involved in coal, oil, and natural gas activities and that “continued investments related to these activities can increase the financial risk exposure of the fund.” The fund said the move is a result of its work to identify and analyze climate-related financial risks in...

March 25, 2020
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20Mar

Dutch pension funds receive billions as additional collateral

Dutch pension funds received billions of euros as additional collateral on swap contracts last week in the wake of rapidly declining interest rates. Liability-driven investment managers at Achmea Investment Management and NN Investment Partners, which deal with swaps used by pension funds for hedging their interest risk, said that checking whether banks and central clearing houses could fulfill their obligations required a lot of attention. Last week, the 30-year swap rate – schemes’ main criterion for discounting liabilities –...

March 20, 2020
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