September 2020

25Sep

UK. Scam warning signs found in half of post-Lockdown pension transfers

According to XPS, the pensions consultancy firm, in July and August of this year 51% of pension transfers, equating to twenty five million pounds in pension savings, were flagged as at risk of a pension scam. The number of transfers showing at least one red flag has dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2016, only 13% of pensions’ transfers triggered a red flag. This figure rose to 33% at the end of June 2020 and then jumped considerably...

September 25, 2020
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24Sep

UK. Aon warns longevity risk has not gone away with COVID-19 deaths

Insurance and reinsurance broker and risk advisory Aon has warned today that re/insurers and pension funds need to avoid over-reacting to how inclusion of COVID-19 deaths changes recognised mortality models, saying that “longevity risk has not gone away.” Once excess deaths are added into the mortality models for the United Kingdom it may produce an unrealistic fall in life expectancy, Aon warns. Insurance and reinsurance companies, as well as pension schemes and funds, factor life expectancy into their calculations...

September 24, 2020
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23Sep

UK. Pension funds should allocate towards infrastructure and growth assets as government bonds now provide “return-free risk”, says Baroness Altmann

Former pensions minister and peer of the House of Lords, Baroness Ros Altmann is a well-known economist and campaigner. Her work has included leading a lobby that secured millions of pounds in compensation for the retirees of the UK’s former nationalised steel industry, who faced losing their entire state pensions. Read also UK. Platform giants join firms in pension switching call Speaking at the World Pensions Council’s virtual conference, the G7 Pensions Investment Summit, Altmann said that pension funds must...

September 23, 2020
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22Sep

UK. Pensions Gender Gap: How Can We Fight Future Financial Shortfall of Women

Women are being urged to think about their long term savings as research reveals almost five million females in the UK over the age of 50 think they won't have enough to live on in retirement. The figures are from a report – Finances after 50 – published by financial services provider SunLife. It comes as a group of women recently failed in a high court appeal to claim compensation for lost State pension income as a result of...

September 22, 2020
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21Sep

UK. Platform giants join firms in pension switching call

latform giants Hargreaves Lansdown and Aegon are among 67 firms to join an initiative calling for greater standards in pension switching. The partnership between Criterion and TeX, under the brand of Star, is working on a transfers & re-registration initiative which it hopes will shape "recognised, industry-wide standards to promote good practice in transfers". Fidelity and Standard Life have also petitioned their fund groups to support the campaign. Andrew Marker, chairman of the Star steering group and...

September 21, 2020
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17Sep

UK. Small pension schemes face winding up or consolidation if they can’t demonstrate value

Getting a good return on the money you put aside in your pension is crucial if you want to enjoy a comfortable retirement. And new rules from the Government should make that just a little bit easier. The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has published new draft rules, which aim to force defined contribution pension schemes to prove they offer value to savers or else face being wound up. Trustees of pension schemes will be expected to...

September 17, 2020
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17Sep

UK. Has your state pension been underpaid? Pressure grows on government to tackle issue

State pension: Campaigners have launched the next stage in their campaign, as they call on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to use their records to track down all the women who are missing out and receiving underpaid state pension payments. Pressure on the Government when it comes to the issue of women who have been underpaid via their state pension payments has risen, following the tabling of a new petition on Parliament's website. The petition has ben...

September 17, 2020
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15Sep

UK. Government encourages pension schemes to invest in green tech and infrastructure

Measures aimed at encouraging pension schemes to invest in a more diverse range of long term assets, including green technology and infrastructure, have been outlined by the government. It has launched a consultation and is seeking views on additional steps to encourage the consolidation of smaller pension schemes into larger schemes. The government believes a key wider benefit of an increase in consolidation could be the increased share of assets saved in large, defined contribution (DC) schemes potentially able to...

September 15, 2020
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14Sep

UK. Credit downgrades present ‘serious challenges’ for pension schemes – AXA IM

A fall in the average credit quality of fixed income indices and increased competition for high-quality assets presents “serious challenges” for pension schemes, AXA Investment Managers (IM) has warned. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, rating agencies have down graded over £778bn of corporate issues across global indices, leaving high quality assets in “short supply” during a period of rising demand. AXA IM Buy and Maintain credit team portfolio manager, Simon Baxter, stated that the concentration in high grade...

September 14, 2020
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11Sep

UK:Workers ‘more at risk’ as they want to work past retirement date

A global retirement survey conducted in 15 countries by Aegon has revealed that workers in Britain could be exposed to lifestyle-changing financial risk later in life as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the survey, workers in the UK are less likely to want to retire earlier than planned but almost a third of them have no back-up plan in case they are unable to do so due to ill health. Only about 30% have a...

September 11, 2020
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