July 2021
22Jul

UK. Govt introduces public service pensions bill in parliament

The new legislation, introduced by Conservative peer Viscount Younger of Leckie, was first announced in the Queen’s Speech in May. The bill intends to fix the age-based discrimination against younger pension scheme members that stems from reforms introduced to public sector schemes in 2015. These reforms meant that while most members were moved to new career average revalued earnings schemes, individuals aged 44 years or more on April 1 2015 were allowed to stay in their original defined benefit schemes. The Court...

July 22, 2021
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21Jul

UK. DWP failed in communicating women’s state pension age changes

Government officials were too slow to tell many women they would be affected by the rising state pension age, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has ruled. The finding brings the prospect of compensation closer for thousands of women born in the 1950s who have long been furious about the issue. It marks a significant victory for the Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign. However, the ombudsman has no power to refund "lost" pensions. It is also unable to recommend that anyone receive their state...

July 21, 2021
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20Jul

U.K. releases proposals for collective defined contribution plans

The U.K. Department of Work and Pensions is seeking views from trustees and plan sponsors on its draft collective defined contribution plan regulation published Monday. The proposal follows the U.K. Pension Schemes Act 2021, which permitted employers for the first time to launch collective DC plans, also referred to as collective money purchase plans. In a CDC plan, income is secured by pooling plan participants' assets and investments, and participants bear the longevity and investment risk. That is in contrast to...

July 20, 2021
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19Jul

UK. The state pension is slated to rise by 8%, but thousands of retirees will be left out.

State pension payments may increase by 8% next year, but some retirees will be excluded from the increase. Individuals who have achieved state pension age might receive considerable financial assistance through state pension payments. Many people will have contributed a significant amount of money to the National Insurance system over the course of their lives in order to receive the largest state pension feasible. To help, the government uses a triple lock system that increases the state pension total by...

July 19, 2021
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16Jul

The Story of UK Pensions: An engaging guide to the pensions system

By Matthew Rhodes This book explains the wonderful world of UK pensions. It starts with a brief history of how the system has developed over time, covering the different arrangements provided by the private and public sectors, as well as the State. It then investigates the system in more detail, explaining some of the complexitiies and why pensions so often make news headlines. This book is suitable for anyone - whether you know nothing about pensions, or are someone in...

July 16, 2021
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16Jul

Private Retirement Systems and Sustainability: Insights from Australia, the UK, and the US

By Nathan Fabian, Mikael Homanen, Nikolaj Pedersen & Morgan Slebos Retirement system sustainability is defined as the ability of plan boards and managers to be responsible investors, active stewards, and allocators of capital to economic activities with desirable social and environmental outcomes. In this paper, we examine the policy frameworks and important structural variables pertinent to private retirement systems in Australia, the UK, and the US. By analyzing various reports, interviewing experts, and using data from the Principles of Responsible...

July 16, 2021
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16Jul

Further Proof that Auto-Enrollment is Key to Saving Earlier for Retirement

If you automatically enroll them, they will save… sooner. A new survey has found the vast majority (84%) of workers that were automatically enrolled in their workplace retirement plan say they started to save for retirement sooner than if they had to take action to make the enrollment decision on their own. Read also US. Biden’s Pension Rescue Seen as Bigger Help for Corporate Bonds However, only one-third of employers currently offer automatic enrollment, and among those that do, just 21% have...

July 16, 2021
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15Jul

U.K. corporate pension fund surplus gains again in June

The total surplus of U.K. defined benefit funds covered by the Pension Protection Fund’s 7800 index increased 4.7% in June to £99 billion ($137 billion). The surplus was £94.6 billion at the end of May. A year earlier, U.K. corporate DB funds recorded a total deficit of £132.2 billion, the London-based PPF said Tuesday in an update. The PPF is the lifeboat fund for defined benefit plans of insolvent U.K. companies. The funding ratio increased to 105.8% as of June 30, up...

July 15, 2021
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14Jul

Green pension 21x more effective than common climate change efforts

UK savers have been urged to make their pension green after research revealed that this was a “staggering” 21 times more effective at cutting carbon footprints than stopping flying, becoming a vegetarian and moving to a renewable energy provider combined. Read also Is there really an ESG bubble? The analysis, from Make My Money Matter (MMMM), Aviva, and Route2, found that those with an average sized pension pot of £30,000 who moved from a traditional fund to a sustainable option can...

July 14, 2021
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13Jul

UK. Women expected to be hit hardest if triple lock scrapped

Women will be hit the hardest if the government scraps the triple lock on the state pension, as they are almost twice as likely to rely on the benefit, according to Barnett Waddingham (BW). Research from the firm showed that 30 per cent of women do not have any private or workplace pensions, and were therefore likely receive a state pension only at retirement, while 17 per cent of men were in the same position. BW’s survey results showed that this...

July 13, 2021
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