April 2021

Vanguard launches price war in UK pensions market

Vanguard has launched its financial advice service in the UK, charging an 'all-inclusive' ongoing fee of 0.79 per cent. The headline cost will incorporate annual platform charges of 0.15 per cent, ongoing fund charges of 0.12 per cent, transaction costs and an advice fee of 0.5 per cent. Vanguard said it would not charge an initial, or any other, fee. The service will be targeted at clients with assets of £50,000 or more. The company is to focus on providing restricted advice...

UK. Pension Superfunds: Bright Future or Flash in the Pan?

The Pension Superfund is an interesting development for employers and employees in the United Kingdom and is beginning to become relevant in all of Europe. Insurers have recently been given the green light to offer the superfund and several insurers are already putting this in place for their customers. These Pensions represent a new and highly regulated 'vehicle' designed to consolidate UK occupational Defined Benefit (DB) pension funds. The superfund is achieved using a novel new method that accepts bulk...

The U.K.’s policy on overseas pensions is costing Canadian taxpayers

"This is not a party matter," said Ian Andexser of Nanaimo, B.C., who heads the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners. "This is a snub to Canada." And across the pond in England, Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale has come to the same conclusion: the government of which he is a member has acted "in very bad faith indeed" toward Canada. The matter angering both individuals is a British government policy that excludes U.K. pensioners who live mostly in Canada and Australia...

Climate change worse than pandemic: UK regulator

The chief executive of the UK's Pensions Regulator believes climate change will be more catastrophic to populations' way of life than the COVID-19 pandemic if no action is taken. The comments came as The Pensions Regulator chief executive Charles Counsell introduced the regulator's new climate strategy, providing pension funds with a framework for disclosing climate information and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Counsell said: "In recent times we've faced a crisis caused by a pandemic. We've all taken urgent action...

UK pensions regulator warns pension schemes on climate disclosures

Britain's pensions regulator will consider enforcement action against pension schemes who do not make mandatory climate risk disclosures, it said on Wednesday. Read also Climate change worse than pandemic: UK regulator The Pensions Regulator said it was calling on scheme trustees to protect pensions savers from climate risk, ahead of proposed regulations requiring trustees of larger schemes to keep track of their climate change exposure. Read also UK. Pension communications ‘failing to engage’ more women than men “Where we do not see schemes...

UK. Pension communications ‘failing to engage’ more women than men

The FCA's Financial Lives research revealed 60% of women are unaware of the charges on their defined contribution (DC) pension compared to 44% of men, while 57% of women have not reviewed how much their pension is worth in the last 12 months compared to 46% of men. Additionally, 14% of women admitted they do not read their annual statement, more than double the 6% of men who do not read it. More than half of women (53%) did not choose...

Understanding Social Insurance: Risk and Value Pluralism in the Early British Welfare State

By Rachel Friedman This article seeks to make two contributions to the understanding of social insurance, a central policy tool of the modern welfare state. Focusing on Britain, it locates an important strand of theoretical support for early social insurance programs in antecedent developments in mathematical probability and statistics. While by no means the only source of support for social insurance, it argues that these philosophical developments were among the preconditions for the emergence of welfare policies. In addition, understanding...

Mercer commits to net zero by 2050 in UK, Europe and Asia

Mercer has targeted net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 for UK, European and Asian clients with discretionary portfolios and the majority of its multi-client, multi asset funds domiciled in Ireland. The company said this represented a combined total of £31.5bn in assets under management as of 31 December 2020, adding that it would seek to achieve its net-zero goal by reducing portfolio relative carbon emissions by at least 45 per cent from 2019 baseline levels by 2030. Following the creation of a...

March 2021

PensionBee targets £55m capital raise as IPO plans confirmed

PensionBee is aiming to raise £55m through issuing new shares, as the pension provider has confirmed its intention to list on the London Stock Exchange. The group, which first made its intentions public on March 23, today (March 30) published its registration document for an IPO on the LSE. Read also UK women have up to 45% less in pension at retirement than men The £1.5bn AUA company is applying for admission in the high growth segment of the main market on...

UK women have up to 45% less in pension at retirement than men

The UK pensions system disadvantages women compared to men, with females having between 25% to 45% less in their pension pots at retirement, new data has shown. According to analysis from professional services consultancy Barnett Waddingham, the gender pension gap begins to diverge most after the age of 32, with men contributing up to £1,500 ($2,068) per annum more into their pension than women. This is despite contributing the same percentage of their salary. The research, which analysed the data and saving...