UK Archives - Pension Policy International

18SepSeptember 18, 2026

UK. Work and Pensions Committee to review auto-enrolment minimums

The committee, chaired by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, announced the inquiry this week. It will explore potential reforms to the auto-enrolment system “to help ensure fair employer and employee contributions to secure a decent retirement income for low earners”, according to a press release. The inquiry will run concurrently with the work of the Pensions Commission and aims to feed into its final report, expected in the spring of 2027. Abrahams said: “Last year we looked at the devastating effect of...

September 18, 2026

NewsCoverage, Operations, UK

17SepSeptember 17, 2026

UK. Integrated retirement journeys could drive 60% guaranteed income take-up

Integrating guaranteed income into the retirement journey could produce annuitisation rates of between 55 per cent and 60 per cent without removing member choice, research from Nuveen and the TIAA Institute has suggested. The report, Beyond auto-enrolment: International lessons for converting UK retirement savings into lifetime income, drew on evidence from 11 countries, with a particular focus on Switzerland, Chile and TIAA’s experience of voluntary annuitisation in the US. It found that around 55 per cent of Swiss retirees select full...

September 17, 2026

NewsPension design, UK

17SepSeptember 17, 2026

Value for Money: Industry flags concerns over forward-looking metrics

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consultation process closed this week, as it continues to develop the proposed Value for Money (VfM) rulebook that the government hopes will strengthen and future-proof DC savings. Pension providers and trade bodies have widely welcomed the proposed system, but several have flagged concerns over issues such as forward-looking performance metrics and the absence of collective defined contribution arrangements from the rulebook. In its response, TPT Retirement Solutions argued that regulators needed to ensure that “forward-looking projections...

September 17, 2026

NewsDefined Contribution, supervision, UK

15SepSeptember 15, 2026

UK. Almost 7 million adults in the dark about their State Pension

Almost 7 million adults could be missing out on information to help prepare them for their retirement. This Pension Awareness Week (15 to 18 September 2026), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is encouraging people of all ages to download and use the free and secure HMRC app and the Tax Confident website to help them get ready for retirement and understand what to expect. New research from HMRC reveals one in eight adults (12.5%) have never checked their State Pension forecast...

September 15, 2026

NewsEngagement, State Pensions, UK

14SepSeptember 14, 2026

UK. Why civil service pensions have been delayed as backlog still over 30,000

Thousands of retired civil servants continue to face late or missing pension payments as administrator Capita oversees a growing caseload. The government outsourcing giant took over the civil service pension scheme in December 2025, taking an already considerable backlog of 86,000 cases to 120,000 by February 2026. It admitted earlier this year that its handling of the 1.7 million-member scheme was “not good enough” amid scathing government scrutiny. Capita’s contract to oversee the Royal Mail statutory pension scheme was terminated in April,...

September 14, 2026

NewsPublic Pensions, UK

11SepSeptember 11, 2026

UK. I asked my husband to pay into my pension when we had a child – here’s why

When Molly and Taylor Haylett started their family, they hadn't really planned for what it would mean financially. "Our first child surprised us, so we weren't prepared for it," says Molly, 30, a financial adviser from Essex. Molly and Taylor, who's a train driver, were earning similar amounts, but once Molly spent more time at home with their baby, the balance changed. "Taylor's career propelled and mine took a step back," she says. "There's an unintended impact on the person who spends...

September 11, 2026

NewsGender Gap, UK

10SepSeptember 10, 2026

UK. Inside the Pensions Regulator’s new approach to enforcement

The regulator published its new enforcement approach on its website, setting out how it will use “better data, intelligence, and market insight” to inform its actions and “identify emerging risks sooner, engage earlier, and step in before problems escalate”. In its enforcement strategy document, the regulator explained that it had developed a “more focused, agile and outcomes-driven model that is better aligned with the changing risks in the pensions landscape”. It pledged to take “decisive action” when it identifies areas of...

September 10, 2026

NewsRegulation, UK

08SepSeptember 8, 2026

UK. Pension levy increases need ‘clear evidence’ before introduction

The government’s consultation on the regulatory charge imposed on pension schemes was due to close today (September 8) with proposed changes set to be rolled out in April 2027. In its response to the Department for Work and Pensions, Tisa has called for stronger evidence to justify proposed changes to pension levies. It said while it supports the principle of having different levy rates for different scheme categories, it was concerned about the proposed “significant increases” for master trusts and personal...

September 8, 2026

NewsAdequacy, UK

07SepSeptember 7, 2026

Bumper growth for world’s largest pension funds as UK market contracts

The UK was one of only two major pension markets to record a decline in assets over the past five years, according to new research. This retrenchment comes as the world’s largest 300 pension funds saw their assets jump 13.4 per cent during 2025, to a record $27.7 trillion (£20.7 trillion). This is the fastest annual growth for the world’s largest schemes since 2017. The figures also show that the world largest pension fund, Norway’s Government Pension Fund, became the first...

September 7, 2026

News2026, AUM, Pension Management, UK

04SepSeptember 4, 2026

Redistribution through Taxes or Pensions? Optimal Income Tax and Pension Progressivity

By Burkhard Heer & Mark M. Trede We develop a medium-scale overlapping-generations model with endogenous labor supply and skill premium to study optimal income redistribution using progressive labor income taxes and pensions. The model is calibrated to the four countries USA, Great Britain, Italy and Germany which differ substantially in their tax and pension systems, demographics, and skill shares among workers. Optimal pension benefits are proportional to lifetime contributions in all four countries, while the optimal degree of income tax...

September 4, 2026

Articles, Pension design2026, Italy and Germany, Social Security, Taxation, UK, US