March 2022
02Mar

UK firms rush to dump Russian assets amid efforts to isolate Moscow

British firms are scrambling to dump Russian assets amid efforts by the US, EU and UK governments to deepen Moscow’s economic isolation after the invasion of Ukraine. Read also More U.K., European investors move away from Russia Legal & General, Abrdn and state-backed pension scheme Nest have said they will try to sell their holdings in Russian stocks, while British Gas owner Centrica on Tuesday became the third big British energy firm to cut ties with Russia within a week, echoing...

March 2, 2022
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February 2022
24Feb

UK. Auto-enrolment contribution rates need to rise to 12%, expert tells MPs

Auto-enrolment contributions need to rise to 12 per cent of earnings from the current 8 per cent, but this change should not be rushed through, MPs have been told. Speaking to the work and pensions committee this morning (February 23), Nigel Peaple, director of policy and advocacy at the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association, said auto-enrolment pensions “work really well”, while the voluntary saving side simply “hasn't come through”. “We believe the answer is to increase the automatic enrolment contributions,” said...

February 24, 2022
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23Feb

US. Retirement savings hit record rates despite great resignation

Despite the ups and downs of the labor market, one thing has held steady: employees’ commitment to funding their retirement accounts. Fidelity revealed record rates of retirement savings during 2021 in their latest trend report. Their data showed that the average 401(k) account balance was a record high of $130,700, and 40% of savers actually increased their account contributions last year. Read also United States: Shareholder Activism Or Divestment? The Massachusetts Pension Fund Chooses Activism “Investors continued to stay focused on the...

February 23, 2022
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22Feb

UK. Parliament pension fund makes ESG investments

The scheme’s annual report revealed that the fund is integrating environmental, social and governance issues throughout its investment process, while making a number of commitments to ESG-aligned mandates throughout the year to March 2021. Read also UK. DWP confirms GMP revaluation rate reduction First, the scheme invested in the BlackRock Global Renewable Power Infrastructure Fund III, making its first contribution in August 2020, with further capital calls made later in the year. Read also From human rights to recycling bins: how can...

February 22, 2022
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21Feb

UK. More universities join strike action over pay and pensions

Strike action at UK universities has spread to 68 institutions as staff blamed bosses for failing to make improved offers on pensions, pay and working conditions. The University and College Union said today (February 21) more than 50,000 staff have a mandate to strike and over a million students are being impacted. Strikes initially began at 44 universities last week (February 14) and a further 24 have joined today. The union, which represents all university staff, said new retail price index figures...

February 21, 2022
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21Feb

UK. Royal Mail moves ahead with CDC scheme

Royal Mail, the Communication Workers Union and Unite have agreed to progress plans to introduce a new collective defined contribution scheme, the first of its type in the country, following a consultation with members. Royal Mail launched its consultation in September 2021, in which it laid out plans for the new Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan. Under a CDC arrangement, members pool investment and longevity risk and contribution rates for employers and employees are set in advance. The group finalised and confirmed...

February 21, 2022
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17Feb

UK. Pension chiefs encourage company stakeholder engagement

A group of pension executives has challenged companies to engage with their stakeholders and intensify their efforts to reach net zero emissions. The statement came in a letter to the Financial Times, signed by leaders from across the defined benefit and defined contribution spaces, Local Government Pension Scheme funds and private plans who are collectively responsible for more than £675bn in assets. Brunel Pension Partnership’s chief responsible investment officer Faith Ward, Nest’s chief executive Helen Dean and BT Pension Scheme Management’s...

February 17, 2022
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14Feb

UK. Lecturers strike again over USS benefit cuts

On the go: Staff at 44 institutions are to walk out once again over planned benefit cuts to the Universities Superannuation Scheme. The strike is the latest episode in a long dispute between the USS trustee, employer group Universities UK, and the University and College Union over the resolution of the scheme’s controversial 2020 valuation. The trustee has until the end of the month to submit a schedule of contributions to regulators. Absent a deal, the conclusions reached by the 2020...

February 14, 2022
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11Feb

UK. Force pension funds to align with net zero goal, says Richard Curtis

Pension funds should face legal obligations to bring their investments in line with the net zero greenhouse gas emissions goal, the film-maker Richard Curtis has said. Curtis, a co-founder of the Make My Money Matter campaigning group, urged ministers to follow up the UK’s legal commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 by making it mandatory for pension schemes to align their portfolios with the target. He told the Guardian: “The moment has arrived. Why not invest in sustainable investments?...

February 11, 2022
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07Feb

UK. Nearly half of savers in the dark when switching providers

More than four in 10 pension savers said they would not know what to look for when switching providers. More than two in five of the 2,104 savers surveyed by B&CE, the provider of The People’s Pension, would be likely to transfer their savings between providers if they could use a website that allowed them to see their pensions in one place. The findings are the latest in a flurry of research conducted into consumer behaviour surrounding the pensions dashboards, which...

February 7, 2022
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