May 2021

UK. Covid fails to inject interest in pensions

The pandemic has failed to spark interest in pensions according to a survey from Canada Life. It reveals that 67% of UK adults have not logged into their pension online in a year. This figure rises to 78% for those aged over 55 while 56% of adults said they haven’t received a pension statement that they read. The research also shows that 16% of those who have not logged into their pension were not interested in doing this. Fifteen percent admitted they did...

UK. Pension fee shake-up

Proposals include introducing a threshold of £100 or below which a person cannot be charged a flat fee by their pensions provider, helping limit the erosion of small pot pensions and protect savers. This will stop pensions worth £100 or less and invested in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment being gradually whittled away by the fees, a situation commonly faced by people who change jobs frequently or take up short-term contracts. Minister for Pensions, Guy Opperman said: We...

UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions

One in five savers in the UK have three or more pension pots, while almost half (47 per cent) have two or more, according to research commissioned by Hargreaves Lansdown. The study, conducted by Opinium, also found that less than a quarter (24 per cent) had ever transferred a pension. Men were more likely to have transferred a pension, with 26 per cent of male respondents having done so, compared to 22 per cent of women. However, Hargreaves Lansdown noted that it...

UK. Top British companies forced to pump £200bn into pension schemes to prop them up, figures reveal

Top British companies have been forced to pump £200billion into their pension schemes to avoid a drop in funding, figures reveal. Read also UK pension asset owners join Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Law firm Lane Clark & Peacock said the sum – equivalent to the economic output of Czechia – was needed to counter tumbling share prices and bond yields. Read also UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions It warned that firms were 'running just to stand still' and that...

UK. TPR sets three priorities in its new corporate plan

The Pension Regulator (TPR) laid out three priorities for the next three years in its new corporate plan. Implementing the Pension Schemes Act, combating scams and developing a framework to measure value for money will be the objectives of TPR over the next three years. The regulator sees these three objectives as the continuation to its response to economic uncertainty following the Covid-19 pandemic. The plan also provide information to the industry about how TPR’s work will be measured. TPR has set itself...

UK. Regulators ask industry for help on improving pension saving

The City watchdog and the Pensions Regulator have teamed up to investigate how people make decisions about their pension at key points throughout their working lives, in order to better support savers through future regulation. Read also UK. TPR sets three priorities in its new corporate plan The regulators today (May 18) launched a call for input from the pension industry on what influences consumers when saving into a pension and how they can be better supported to improve their pension...

UK. Pensions Dashboard Programme publishes updated timeline with breakdown of next six months

The Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP) has published an updated timeline outlining steps and timings for data providers to enable the industry to prepare for connecting with the dashboard ecosystem. The PDP - set up by the Money and Pensions Service (Maps) - has outlined further timings for the industry to connect with the programme as part of its third progress update report including a breakdown... Read also UK. DB transfer victims lose up to 40% of compensation The PDP - set up...

UK. DB transfer victims lose up to 40% of compensation

Victims of defined benefit transfer mis-selling stand to lose an average 40 per cent of compensation payments thanks to changes in the way redress is calculated. While this problem could affect every victim of DB transfer misadvice across the UK, the discrepancy has come to light because steelworkers at Port Talbot have been 'comparing notes' on the compensation levels they have received so far. As a result, campaigners helping former British Steel Pension Scheme members to get redress have warned the way the...

UK. Pension funds urged to help UK reach net zero climate goals

Pension funds must set a target of net zero emissions for their investments if the UK is to meet its climate goals, influential figures in climate activism have urged. Many people are unaware of whether their pensions funds are invested in fossil fuels or high-carbon activities, and even companies that have publicly committed to reaching net zero emissions may have pension fund investments that are still wedded to high-carbon businesses. As the UK prepares to host the UN climate talks Cop26...

UK. FCA proposes Pension Wise nudge for DC savers

In a consultation today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today proposed that providers will need to go further than the current signposting in a bid to improve take-up of the free guidance service. Consumers would see appointments made for them, if requested, although they will not be mandatory after MPs on several occasions voted against the idea, believing it could be seen as a tick-box exercise, as opposed to a beneficial part of the process. Upon deciding, in principle, how to...