June 2020
08Jun

UK. Regulator repeats anti-scam warning as £5m lost to fraud

The Pensions Regulator has repeated its warning about scams after a report showed more than £5m has been lost to fraud since February. According to research carried out by Action Fraud the number of fraud cases total more than 2,100 in the past five months, with losses to fraudulent activity amounting to £5,142,265. Pension scams were amongst the most common type of fraud with fraudsters tricking victims into transferring their pension pots to criminals or releasing funds. Commenting on...

June 8, 2020
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04Jun

UK. Covid-19: pension scheme guidance

The new guide is relevant to private sector occupational defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) trust-based pension schemes in the UK, including hybrid schemes and DC master trusts, applying the pensions SORP. It covers a wide range of topics including responsibilities for reporting to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the impact of the pandemic on the control environment of pension schemes. There is no relaxation of trustees’ responsibilities under the notifiable events regime and those running DC master...

June 4, 2020
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May 2020
29May

Transaction costs make up 37% of UK pension investment costs: CACEIS

Transaction costs make up an average of 37 per cent of the total costs relating to pension scheme investments, data from CACEIS has revealed. This makes transaction costs the second largest outlay in scheme investments, after management costs which make up 42 per cent of total investment costs. The proportion of investment expenses made up by transaction costs has increased from CACEIS’ previously reported figure of 25 per cent. CACEIS said this is in part due to new methodology...

May 29, 2020
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28May

The Game of Pension Risk Transfers Continues

fsi Many employers with defined benefit pension plans would love to put responsibility for the plans in the hands of a life insurer, by buying a large group annuity contract. Predictions about how the current COVID-19, stock price and interest rate turmoil will affect the market for pension risk transfer annuities are… highly diverse. The life insurers in the market say demand is strong. Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service say big pension risk transfer units could help buffer...

May 28, 2020
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25May

U.K.’s Largest Pension Fund Urges Total to Clamp Down on CO2

The U.K.’s biggest pension fund said it will back a climate resolution asking for France’s Total SA to adopt a tougher stance on climate change at its annual shareholder meeting next week. The resolution was brought by 11 European asset managers last month, in another example of investors pressuring Big Oil to tackle environmental challenges. Since then, Total has set out bold commitments to eliminate most of its emissions by 2050, joining others such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc...

May 25, 2020
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20May

UK. True scale of pension scams unknown, think tank warns

The "true scale" of pension scams remains unknown as only a minority are reported and data is not collected in comparable ways across the industry, the Pensions Policy Institute has warned. A policy paper from the PPI, published yesterday (May 19), found data available about the number of scams taking place across the industry, as well as the amount lost in each scam, did not offer a comprehensive view of the true scale of the issue. It warned this...

May 20, 2020
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19May

UK. Pension savings warning: Savers could be hit hard by freeze on transfers

Pension savings have been prevented from transfers as a result of a number of trustees utilising their emergency powers to prevent movement of money. This means those who wish to ditch their defined benefit pension schemes could have a hard time doing so.  The decision has been made by a number of companies facing financial hardship during the coronavirus crisis. Under new rules, put in place by the Pensions Regulator, trustees are able to suspend transfers for up to three months....

May 19, 2020
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18May

UK. Pension savers unable to move their cash as trustees use emergency powers

Savers who want to ditch defined benefit pensions as their employers struggle to survive may find themselves trapped by trustees using emergency powers to halt transfers. Businesses facing financial hardship have been the first to see trustees of their staff pension funds block members from moving their cash for three months during the pandemic. This stops anyone wanting to transfer out of defined benefit pensions, which pay a guaranteed income in retirement, into more flexible but riskier “defined...

May 18, 2020
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15May

How the UK pensions industry is paving the way for open data sharing ecosystems

As consumer expectations around digital services increase, businesses across every sector are looking to meet a growing demand for better, and more user-friendly, applications of data. The Covid-19 pandemic has only accelerated this shift to digital as traditionally offline activities move online, and businesses are racing to stay ahead of both their customers and their competitors. The UK pensions industry might not seem an obvious place to look for inspiration about how to adapt to digital transformation, but that...

May 15, 2020
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14May

UK. Govt told to scrap pensions triple lock to reduce virus debt

The pensions triple lock could be scrapped in the near future as the government looks to recoup the hundreds of billions of pounds it has spent on Covid-19 support. According to a Treasury document dated May 5, seen by the Telegraph, chancellor Rishi Sunak has been advised to break one of the Conservatives’ manifesto pledges and scrap the pension triple lock on state pension rises. Under current rules, the state pension is increased by the triple lock which is...

May 14, 2020
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