November 2021
26Nov

Consultation outcome. Government response: The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021

By Department for Work and Pensions A key ambition of this government is to drive better outcomes for pension savers and help ensure they achieve the best possible retirement. This can only be achieved by putting the members’ interests at the heart of policy. I previously set out my commitment to protect savers from pension scams. An important part of that is to make it as hard as possible for criminals to carry out their malevolent intentions. We know that individuals...

November 26, 2021
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26Nov

UK. Personal pension providers told to warn of inflation risks

Personal pension providers are to be required to send inflation warnings to customers holding large amounts of cash in their funds, under new proposals unveiled by the regulator. In a move aimed at the fast-growing personal pensions market, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is forcing providers to do more to help unadvised customers make better investment decisions. About 125,000 people who do not have the help of an adviser are opening non-workplace pensions every year. These schemes mainly comprise personal pensions...

November 26, 2021
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25Nov

UK. How will the new pension transfer restrictions work?

According to the Financial Conduct Authority, a total of £2,241,774 worth of of pension-scam losses has been reported to Action Fraud since the start of 2021 (between January and May). In a further effort to prevent pension scams, regulations coming into force on November 30 will require checks to assess whether a pension transfer request meets certain conditions to enable a statutory right to transfer. The regulations will empower trustees and scheme managers to prevent a transfer request when a ‘red...

November 25, 2021
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24Nov

Pension funds and institutional investors set to increase focus on ESG, says new study

Some 14 per cent said they expect their focus here to increase ‘dramatically’ between now and 2024, with just 7 per cent claiming it will decrease. Read also Longevity, the uncertainty and managing the risks When considering what impact ESG will have on their investment activities, 43 per cent of the institutional investors surveyed said the environmental factor is the most important one for them. Nearly one in three (31 per cent) said social factors are, and 26 per cent selected...

November 24, 2021
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23Nov

​Three foreign pension lessons for the UK – PPI report

The Pensions Policy Institute’s (PPI) latest report looks at what the UK can learn from other countries to improve value for money for pension savers. Such contries, among others, include Sweden, Australia and the Netherlands. When Sweden introduced its defined contribution (DC)-based premium pension system in the 1990s, it launched a campaign to encourage workers to make an active, considerate choice between the six available investment funds. With remarkable success, as two thirds of workers did indeed make an active choice...

November 23, 2021
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18Nov

One-third of UK pension schemes to set climate risk targets

A third of UK pension schemes have set, or are in the process of setting, targets to reduce their exposure to climate-related risks, but a similar proportion do not plan on doing so themselves. That is according to a new report from the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA), which has identified an emerging division in pension scheme attitudes to climate risk. Although 33% were at least in the process of setting climate risk targets as of July this year, 28% said...

November 18, 2021
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17Nov

UK. Investment consultants publish ESG metrics for consistent reporting

A group of investment consultants working in the UK has come up with a list of environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related metrics for all public equity and public credit asset managers to report on, or work towards being able to report on, as soon as possible. The Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group (ICSWG) said the list was based on metrics that institutional investors were increasingly seeking to collect from asset managers. Anthony Soothill, chair of Telefonica UK Pension Plan Trustees, is...

November 17, 2021
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16Nov

UK. Retirees go back to work to cover pension shortfalls

After they were forced to shield during pandemic rather than top up their retirement income The number of Brits over the age of 70 returning to work is rising, research by financial advisory firm Salisbury House Wealth (SHW) has found. According to data by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) around 481,000 of over-70 are currently working – a 6% increase in the past year. The figure for 2020 was approximately 452,000, as older workers were asked to shield during the...

November 16, 2021
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16Nov

UK. Could CDC solve the USS crisis?

Collective defined contribution has been touted as a possible long-term solution to the problems of the Universities Superannuation Scheme, but experts and unions are not convinced of its suitability. As Pensions Expert has reported previously, the USS trustee has been locked in protracted negotiations with employers, represented by Universities UK, and union members, represented by the University and College Union, over the outcome of its controversial 2020 consultation. The results of its latest valuation saw the scheme’s deficit quadrupling to more...

November 16, 2021
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12Nov

UK. DC schemes urged to offer more pension choices at retirement

Only 11 per cent of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes offer members a full suite of options to access funds at retirement, despite this delivering the best outcome for members, research from XPS Pensions Group has found. XPS's DC Member Outcomes Report revealed that members with access to a full range of flexibilities at retirement, including access to flexible drawdown, a cash lump sum or an annuity, are more likely to make choices that allow them to maximise the funds...

November 12, 2021
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