February 2020

13Feb

U.K. Moves to Require Pensions to Disclose Climate Change Plans

British pension funds may soon need to explain how they are fighting climate change under a global framework as the U.K. aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The U.K.’s Department for Work and Pensions said Wednesday that it proposed an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill that would require pensions to disclose their climate change strategies under the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, a voluntary framework that is widely used by companies. Also Read UK. Government mulls tax...

February 13, 2020
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11Feb

US. The Impact of the SECURE Act on Tax Qualified Retirement Plans

On December 20, President Trump signed into law the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019,”[1] known and referred to colloquially as the “SECURE Act.” The law’s stated purpose, among other things, is to increase the coverage of American workers in employer-sponsored savings arrangements. The new law generally affects retirement plans and programs that include employer-sponsored and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), among others. Many of the SECURE Act’s provisions that impact employer-sponsored plans took effect...

February 11, 2020
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07Feb

International Handbook on Ageing and Public Policy (Handbooks of Research on Public Policy)

By Sarah Harper, kate Hamblin With the collective knowledge of expert contributors in the field, The International Handbook on Ageing and Public Policy explores the challenges arising from the ageing of populations across the globe. With an expansive look at the topic, this comprehensive Handbook examines various national state approaches to welfare provisions for older people and highlights alternatives based around the voluntary and third-party sector, families and private initiatives. Each of these issues are broken down further and...

February 7, 2020
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January 2020

28Jan

US. What Are The Solo 401(k) Contributions Limits For 2020?

For those of you who are working as independent contractors or small business owners, you may benefit from contributing to a small business retirement plan. One plan that allows for the largest pre-tax contribution is the Solo 401(k). Tax planning for your business may be the difference between turning a nice profit and barely keeping the doors open. Similarly, making smart tax moves may free up more money to save for a secure retirement. Using a Solo 401(k)...

January 28, 2020
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27Jan

UK. FCA fined over pension scheme failures

The Pensions Regulator has fined the FCA £2,000 due to insufficient detail in its 2018 DC governance statement. This is the maximum fine The Pensions Regulator can issue for poor statements. Firms must submit an annual chair's statement which sets out how the scheme meets certain standards and obligations including information on the scheme’s default fund and its governance, the costs and charges applied, and the assessment of value for members. The fine was issued during Q3 2019, however...

January 27, 2020
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24Jan

OECD Reviews of Pension Systems: Portugal

By OECD This review provides policy recommendations on how to improve the Portuguese pension system, building on the OECD’s best practices in pension design. It details the Portuguese pension system and identifies its strengths and weaknesses based on cross-country comparisons. The Portuguese pension system consists of an old-age safety net, a pay-as-you-go defined benefit scheme and voluntary private savings. The safety net includes an old-age social pension and a complement (the so-called Complemento Solidário para Idosos or CSI), both...

January 24, 2020
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23Jan

UK. Pensions dashboards: Minister urges providers to get data in shape

Pensions minister Guy Opperman has urged companies to help pave the way for the dashboards – apps to help people keep track of their savings . The pensions dashboards will give people information about their pensions via a smartphone app, and have been billed as the solution to bring retirement money “into the digital age”. However, they require secure and accurate data from providers. Schemes will be forced to supply this under new laws, but Opperman said...

January 23, 2020
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15Jan

Managing UK pensions risk: new Pensions Regulator powers and criminal offences

Following the general election, the government has reintroduced the Pension Schemes Bill (the ‘Bill’) into Parliament. The Bill includes a number of provisions which will significantly impact corporate activity involving groups with a UK defined benefit pension scheme. Two new criminal offences of ‘risking accrued scheme benefits’ and ‘avoidance of employer debt’ are proposed, each carrying a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. The circumstances in which the Pensions Regulator (the 'Regulator') can make connected third parties (such...

January 15, 2020
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10Jan

UK. Ombudsman reports pension scheme to TPR

The Pensions Ombudsman has reported the Green Coal Limited Occupational Pension Scheme to the Pensions Regulator with concerns over the “status of the scheme”, after upholding a complaint against it. A client dubbed Mr E complained to the ombudsman that he had not been provided with any information on his pension for a year. Previously employed by the Royal Air Force, Mr E was a deferred member of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, which transferred £20,824 at his request in December 2013...

January 10, 2020
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December 2019

18Dec

UK. Guy Opperman re-appointed as pensions minister

Number 10 and the Department for Work and Pensions have confirmed Guy Opperman has been re-appointed as pensions minister. The MP for Hexham was re-elected with an increased majority of 25,152 in last week’s election. He was first appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state at the DWP on 14 June 2017. He previously served as a government whip (lord commissioner of HM Treasury) from 17 July 2016 to June 2017. In his role as pensions minister, Opperman has urged pension...

December 18, 2019
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