February 2025
24Feb

Hong Kong raises ESG disclosure standards for MPF managers

Hong Kong’s pension regulator said money managers would need to raise their disclosure standards on environment, social and governance (ESG) funds to help contributors understand their risk management and investment strategies The 12 participating fund managers, or trustees, including HSBC and Manulife, should improve the transparency levels on ESG-related reporting in their pension schemes, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) said on Monday. The trustees must clearly state ESG strategies and focus on risk management in their brochures, as well...

February 24, 2025
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18Feb

The UK pensions dashboard faces new delays

The long-awaited pensions dashboard is facing fresh delays and may still not be ready to roll out next year – more than a decade after it was first proposed. The Government’s dashboard, designed to allow people to view all their pension pots in one place, has been beset by a series of delays and is tens of millions of pounds over budget. A National Audit Office report in May last year found that the cost of the project had increased from £235m in 2020...

February 18, 2025
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14Feb

Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: The Effects of Reforms on Retirement Behavior

By Axel Börsch-Supan & Courtney Coile Employment among older men and women has increased dramatically in recent years, reversing a downward trend in the closing decades of the twentieth century. Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World examines how changing retirement incentives have reshaped labor force participation trends among older workers. The chapters feature country-specific analyses for Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They find that while there is significant heterogeneity...

February 14, 2025
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11Feb

UK. Bereaved families asked to return pension overpayments

Bereaved relatives have been asked to repay state pensions that were wrongly sent to people who have died by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP has confirmed it has no legal right to reclaim the money but argues that it does so to protect public funds. Former Pensions Minister Sir Steve Webb says the letter the department sends out to families does not make it clear the repayments are voluntary. Over the past five years, the DWP mistakenly paid more...

February 11, 2025
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05Feb

UK. Pensions inheritance tax raid to punish 150,000 families with higher bills

Labour’s pensions inheritance tax raid will hit 150,000 grieving families with higher death duty bills, figures show. Rachel Reeves’s decision to apply inheritance tax to pension wealth from April 2027 will drag 31,200 families into paying the levy for the first time by 2030, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request. Some 121,500 families that already pay inheritance tax will also see their bills rise as a result of the change. The policy means that estates with relatively modest assets...

February 5, 2025
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05Feb

UK. DWP Fraud Crackdown: Bank Data Access and Travel Monitoring Spark Debate

Wide-ranging new powers, including access to bank data and collaboration with outside organisations like airlines, are expected to be granted to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in order to combat benefit fraud. Critics caution that these tactics could result in widespread surveillance and the degradation of civil freedoms, despite the government’s insistence that they target fraudsters. The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) measure is a new measure that aims to modernise the DWP’s information-gathering capabilities so that...

February 5, 2025
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05Feb

Australia. SMSFA calls for urgent review of pension tax ruling

The SMSF Association has called on the government to urgently review Tax Ruling 2013/5A1, saying the commissioner’s view on when a pension ceases due to the failure to make minimum pension payments remains problematic. In a submission in collaboration with the joint bodies, the SMSFA said TR 2013/5 lacks clear legislative backing, and its reliance on regulation 1.06(9A) appears to be an overreach, adding unnecessary complexity without providing practical benefit. The addendum to TR2013/5 deals with when a superannuation income stream...

February 5, 2025
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04Feb

Hong Kong. HSBC warning as thousands locked out of pensions with no access to savings

HSBC is refusing to transfer £978million in pension savings belonging to thousands of Hong Kong exiles who have fled to Britain. The FTSE 100 bank is withholding funds from tens of thousands of former Hong Kong residents who sought refuge in the UK following pro-democracy protests and the introduction of national security laws. The banking giant, which has its headquarters in London but maintains significant operations in China, claims legal barriers prevent it from releasing the pension funds to those who...

February 4, 2025
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January 2025
31Jan

US. DOL Issues New Guidance Streamlining the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a much awaited amendment to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFC Program). Notably, the amendment adds a self-correction feature for the delinquent transmittal of participant contributions and loan repayments under certain circumstances. This self-correction program allows plan fiduciaries, including plan sponsors, to correct these types of transactions without the additional hassle and expense of formally submitting an application with the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) for approval and relief. Background The...

January 31, 2025
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30Jan

US. More than 4 in 5 retirement plans have at least one regulatory ‘red flag’ violation

More than 4 in 5 workplace retirement plans in the U.S. (84%) have at least one regulatory “red flag” violation that could put them at risk of fines, legal penalties or fiduciary failure, according to consultant Abernathy Daley 401k Consultants. Of the nearly 765,000 defined contribution plans analyzed, 43% had at least one “regulatory infraction red flag” or RIRF, the most severe type of violation that could result in civil legal penalties, discovery leading to trial, or both, Abernathy said. RIRF...

January 30, 2025
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