July 2025
25Jul

State of the nation: DB endgames – where are we now and what’s next?

By Laura McLaren & Lauren Branney  For those managing defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, it’s a pivotal and exciting time. The pensions landscape has changed significantly in recent years, opening up new strategic possibilities. We’ve seen record-breaking activity in the bulk annuity market and growing innovation in consolidation, and alternative risk transfer, leading to new settlement options. We’ve also seen more schemes considering the potential benefits of running on. We explore how the DB pensions environment has shifted, and what this could...

July 25, 2025
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25Jul

UK. Over half DB schemes view regulation as biggest risk to endgame strategy

More than half (51.6 per cent) of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes view regulation as the greatest risk to their endgame strategy, according to research from Hymans Robertson. The consultancy’s State of the Nation paper, part of its Excellence in Endgames hub, showed that aside from regulation, schemes identified investment risk (25.8 per cent), longevity risk (19.4 per cent), and sponsor covenant (3.2 per cent) as other key concerns in pursuing their endgame strategies. Additionally, the report showed that among those considering running on as...

July 25, 2025
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22Jul

UK. PensionBee Urges Action As Government Revives Pensions Commission To Tackle Looming Retirement Crisis

PensionBee, a leader in the consumer retirement market, has called on the Government to match words with action following today’s revival of the Pensions Commission. PensionBee, welcomed the move as a long-overdue wake-up call, warning that without bold reform, millions – including carers, the self-employed, women and low-paid workers – risk sleepwalking into retirement poverty. Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer UK at PensionBee said: “This Pensions Commission shines a welcome light on the very real risk that millions face a poorer retirement unless...

July 22, 2025
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18Jul

UK. Webb sets out ‘three tests’ for govt pension review

Former pensions minister and LCP partner Steve Webb has set out ‘three tests’ against which the second stage of the government’s pensions review should be judged. Focusing on the adequacy of pension savings, Webb said the first test needs to be questioning whether the review is given a ‘free hand’, including recommending reforms which will cost the government money. Most changes to the system, including getting people to save more, will have a cost implication, such as through higher costs of...

July 18, 2025
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17Jul

Vietnam updates insurance law with guidance on lump-sum payouts

It also clarifies the entitlement to retirement and survivorship benefits. Vietnam's Government has issued a decree to provide detailed guidance on several provisions of the Law on Social Insurance related to voluntary social insurance. The new decree, Decree 159/2025/ND-CP, took effect on 1 July, replacing Decree 134/2015/ND-CP. Key areas covered include contribution rules, benefit entitlements, and transitional provisions. Specifically, the decree outlines regulations for individuals who do not qualify for pensions or social allowances due to age or contribution conditions; sets...

July 17, 2025
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11Jul

Eiopa calls for stricter supervision of liquidity risk at pension funds

The EU pensions regulator has issued binding guidance requiring national supervisors to oversee liquidity risk at institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) more closely, citing margin call risks, asset fire sales and the need for proportionate stress testing and liquidity buffers. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) concluded that better supervision of liquidity risk management across institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) was necessary to preserve financial system stability and ensure pension schemes could meet their obligations. In...

July 11, 2025
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11Jul

Addressing the Challenges for Asset-backed Pensions in Indonesia

By Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development This report assesses the challenges to ensuring adequate benefits in retirement for the Indonesian population. The design of the asset-backed pension system aims to help individuals to accumulate resources to finance their retirement. However, the rules of the system may not help achieve the desired objectives, appropriate schemes or vehicles may not always be available and individuals may not necessarily make use of those available. This can lead to retirement savings gaps that...

July 11, 2025
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10Jul

US. 7 Things Retirees Need To Know About the Big Beautiful Bill Act

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Donald Trump over the July 4, 2025, weekend, is a sweeping multitrillion-dollar package that blends tax cuts with significant spending reductions and changes to the social safety net.1 For retirees, the new law brings both opportunities and uncertainties—from temporary tax relief on Social Security benefits to potential changes in required retirement distributions. While some provisions offer immediate benefits, others create planning challenges that could affect retirement strategies for years to come....

July 10, 2025
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10Jul

UK. BoE governor says mandating pension investments is ‘not appropriate’

The government's proposed power to influence investment decisions within defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, outlined in the Pension Schemes Bill, has faced renewed scrutiny after Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, cautioned that such an intervention would not be "appropriate” and require “a lot of heavy lifting". According to the Press Association, Bailey said today (9 July) that he supports structural changes in the pensions industry but rejected the idea of mandating where schemes should allocate capital, stating: “I do not...

July 10, 2025
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09Jul

US. Retirement Industry Responds to Passage of ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

The retirement industry has raised few qualms about the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” but President Donald Trump’s key legislation gives the sector little to shout about, industry sources say. The new law does expand health savings accounts and makes some good on Trump’s campaign promise to not tax Social Security—it instead provides a temporary expanded deduction of up to $6,000 for those 65 or older if they make less than $75,000 per year (or less than $150,000 for...

July 9, 2025
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