April 2024
26Apr

Trust & Confidence Index 2023

By Trafalgar House  The Trust & Confidence Index gauges the trust and confidence levels of more than 2,000 individuals annually, serving as a benchmark for the public's perception of the pensions industry. The index assesses the pensions sector against other financial services, identifies factors influencing trust levels, and determines which service areas people consider significant. Additionally, the analysis probes individuals' attitudes toward their retirement decisions and plans. Get the report here

April 26, 2024
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26Apr

UK. Public trust in pensions rises, but reservations remain

Trafalgar House’s Trust and Confidence Index polled 2,000 people to assess how much they trust the pension industry and whether they believe it will meet their retirement needs. It asked participants to rate their trust in the pensions industry on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being “not at all” and 10 being “a lot”. The index found that trust in the pensions industry increased to 5.26 out of 10 in 2023, up from 4.95 in 2022. This...

April 26, 2024
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25Apr

UK. Nearly half of pension holders haven’t considered inheritors

Almost half (46 per cent) of UK adults with pensions have not considered who should inherit them, research from Canada Life has found. The firm's research revealed that over half (54 per cent) of UK adults with pensions haven’t completed an expression of wish form, with one in 10 (10 per cent) admitting that the expression of wish is neither up to date or they simply don’t know. The expression of wish form is held by the pension company, and in...

April 25, 2024
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24Apr

UK. DWP declares 34,500 claimants have to pay back benefits or face fines up to £20,000

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing a storm of criticism as it has ordered 34,500 people to repay benefits, with fines reaching up to £20,000. This comes amid calls for the DWP to review its handling of Carer's Allowance after it was revealed that thousands of carers are being overpaid and later hit with hefty repayment demands. In a dramatic turn of events, a UK government dementia adviser has stepped down in protest against the DWP's "beyond the pale" legal...

April 24, 2024
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22Apr

UK. Labour shifts poll tactics to target fearful Tory over-65s

Labour is to wage a new campaign to win over Tory-supporting pensioners in an attempt to neutralise one of the government’s last remaining electoral strengths, amid evidence the Conservatives are now performing as badly among the age group as they did under Liz Truss’s leadership. With less than a fortnight to go until local elections in England, which some Tories fear could trigger an attempt to topple Rishi Sunak, the Observer understands that Keir Starmer’s top officials are reorienting their campaign after detecting...

April 22, 2024
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19Apr

Pension Fund Trustees and Fiduciary Duties: Decision-making in the context of Sustainability and the subject of Climate Change

By Financial Markets Law Committee For pension funds, setting investment strategy, principles and policies and making investment decisions have all become more challenging in the context of sustainability and the subject of climate change.  This has given rise to renewed uncertainty over what the “fiduciary duties” or trust duties owed by trustees of pension funds require in this context. Since the pensions sector is a major allocator of capital, legal uncertainties affecting pension fund trustees have the potential to adversely affect...

April 19, 2024
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19Apr

UK. How TPR rates trustees on climate action

Analysis by the Pensions Regulator (TPR) has found that more than 60% of climate reports by pension schemes had some form of net zero goal with a target date of 2050 or earlier. Schemes with more than £1bn in assets under management have been required to publish climate reports since 2022. TPR has analysed a selection of 30 reports and published its findings last week to help raise standards across industry. More than 60% of TPR’s sample had some form of...

April 19, 2024
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18Apr

British trade unions lose appeal over $24 billion cost of pension reform

Two British trade unions on Wednesday lost an appeal over changes to public sector pensions they argued allows the government to unlawfully pass the 19-billion-pound ($23.7 billion) cost of pension reforms on to workers. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the British Medical Association (BMA) said Britain's finance ministry was effectively making members of newer pension schemes foot the bill for its own mistake. A judge at London's High Court had dismissed the two unions' case in March last year. The...

April 18, 2024
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17Apr

UK pension schemes and insurers boost sustainable investments

95% of UK pension funds and insurers in a survey said they expect to increase allocations to renewable energy assets over the next five years. According to the survey commissioned by AlphaReal, a specialist manager of secure income real assets, 35% of respondents said they will increase allocations by up to 10%. About 44% said they will raise allocations by between 10% and 20%, while 16% will boost by more than 20%. The remainder of respondents said there will be no...

April 17, 2024
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16Apr

UK. Wave of retirement is starving UK stocks of pension fund investment, warns Goldman Sachs

British businesses risk being starved of investment as pension funds sell off assets to meet a wave of retirement claims, Goldman Sachs has warned. Analysts at the Wall Street bank have sounded the alarm over investment levels flatlining in the UK after research found final salary schemes are selling almost as many British stocks as other pension funds are buying. This has meant that UK-listed companies are receiving just £500m in net investment from pension funds each year. Goldman Sachs said defined...

April 16, 2024
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