March 2021

UK. Women would have to work 40 years longer to close the gap.

Mothers face more insecure and lower-paid work after having children, official figures suggest. Women with dependent children are seven times more likely to work part-time than men, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). More than 15% of mums also say they are economically inactive because of caring responsibilities, versus 1.9% of dads. One analyst said "millions of mums" were being forced to "pay the price" of a less secure career. The new research found that while mums who are employed were...

ClearGlass Analytics: UK fintech that aims to disrupt pensions world picks up £2.6M

ClearGlass Analytics, a digital intermediary between asset managers and pension funds, has closed a £2.6 million funding. Who backed ClearGlass? The funding round was backed by VC Lakestar and Outward VC, and several significant angels from both the asset management and pension fund worlds. These include Ruston Smith, a well-known professional pension trustee, Richard Butcher, Chair of the PLSA (UK pension trade body), Chris Wilcox, former Global Head of JP Morgan Asset Management, and his former JP Morgan colleagues Rob O’Rahilly, Sikander...

UK Budget: Sunak freezes lifetime allowance for pensions contributions

By Jenna Brown, Christopher Copper-Ind Britain's finance minister, Rishi Sunak, has frozen the lifetime allowance (LTA) for pension contributions at just over £1m for the remainder of this Parliament, and will be keeping IHT at the current level for a further five years. Read also UK. Women retirees win £2.7bn for underpaid pensions The Chancellor said the LTA would remain at its current level of £1,073,100 for 2020/21 rather than increasing in line with inflation. It had been expected to rise by...

UK. Women retirees win £2.7bn for underpaid pensions

About 200,000 women could be in line for payouts averaging £13,500 to top-up the underpayment of their state pension for up to two decades. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed details of the underpayments on Wednesday. The errors focus on automatic cash increases for certain married women, widows and over-80s dating back to 1992 with "enhanced" pensions. The DWP estimated the bill for tackling the shortfalls to be about £2.7bn. The underpayment relates to the "old" state pension system - affecting...

UK. Pension risk settlements reached record high of over £54bn in 2020

The UK pension scheme risk settlement market hit a new record-high figure of over £54bn in 2020, and 2021 could be even bigger, according to analysis from Aon. The provider said it was possible to conclude that 2020 had broken the £52bn total achieved in 2019 now that all information on deals was available, while it cited “early indications” in its forecast that the new year could be worth even more. It also noted that the feat had been achieved despite...

February 2021

UK pension fund fossil fuel investments laid bare

Despite more than 75% of the UK's local councils declaring a climate emergency, their pension funds are still pouring billions into fossil fuels the world over. A new report from campaigners Platform, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Friends of the Earth Scotland reveals UK local government pensions held $14 billion in fossil fuel investments last financial year. The analysis said it equates to about $2500 invested in fossil fuels for each of the 6.8 million people...

British Airways defers £450m of pension payments as Covid cuts flights

British Airways has struck a deal to delay £450m of pension deficit contributions as the company struggles through Covid travel restrictions that have left most of its planes grounded during the pandemic. The carrier’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG), has also reached a final agreement over a £2bn loan that will give the company a larger financial cushion until Covid restrictions are eased. BA, which usually pays £37.5m a month into the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS), has struck a deal...

The ongoing sustainability journey for UK pension schemes

With over £1.3trillion of investments held in the occupational pension arrangements of over 24 million of its citizens, it’s easy to see why pension schemes are an essential part of the UK government’s drive to net-zero. In terms of wider sustainability issues, however, trust law is slower to respond, leaving pension scheme trustees with difficult decisions in some instances. This article provides an overview of the current state of play. Read also Deutsche Bank inks buy-in deal for U.K. pension...

Fintech Raisin to support UK-based investment and pension providers, Aviva

Raisin, Open Banking solutions provider, has teamed up with UK-based savings and retirement firm Aviva with over 33.4 million customers worldwide. The fintech leveraged its Raisin Savings as a Service technology to launch Aviva Save, allowing the pension and investments specialist to enter the cash savings market in the UK. The new Aviva Save platform offers Aviva customers – with 15 million customers in the UK – a selection of fixed-term savings accounts. Aviva savers can pick and mix savings offers...

Deutsche Bank inks buy-in deal for U.K. pension fund with L&G

DB (U.K.) Pension Scheme, England, insured £570 million ($783 million) in liabilities through a buy-in with Legal & General Assurance Society, a spokesman confirmed. The transaction, the first for the £4.5 billion plan, was structured to allow for further risk transfer deals with Legal & General to be completed on pre-agreed terms when favorable pricing arises. The spokesman said the plan will look to complete further transactions. Lane Clark & Peacock advised the trustees and Deutsche Bank, the plan sponsor, on...