July 2020
03Jul

UK. Women’s pensions take the biggest hit after a divorce, with them retiring on a quarter of men’s retirement pots

Divorced women are retiring on pensions a quarter the size of men's, but break-ups take a financial toll on both genders, new research shows. Women who split with their partners reach retirement with savings of around £26,100, while divorced men have £103,500 by the time they stop work. That vastly undershoots the £51,000 and £156,500 which women and men who are not divorced retire on respectively, according to the study published by NOW: Pensions. The figures highlight the huge...

July 3, 2020
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02Jul

UK DB Pension Schemes Lose up to £250m a Year Due to Use of Less Tax-efficient Funds, Research by AMX and Northern Trust Reveals

UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are losing out on over £250m of additional income per year in their global equity portfolios because they are investing via less tax-efficient fund structures than those available, according to new research from The Asset Management Exchange (AMX) and Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS), conducted by Broadridge Financial Solutions. Read also UK. £127bn transferred out of workplace schemes since 2015 – ONS UK pension schemes, as tax-exempt investors, are entitled to apply for reclaims or...

July 2, 2020
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June 2020

30Jun

UK. £127bn transferred out of workplace schemes since 2015 – ONS

Around £127bn has been transferred out of UK funded occupational pension schemes since 2015, with £36.9bn-worth of transfers out in 2017 alone, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The government body’s Financial Survey of Pension Schemes found that transfers in to occupational schemes bounced back the following year, rising from £2.2bn in 2017 to £9.6bn in 2018, driven by a sharp rise on transfers into defined contribution (DC) schemes, which made up £3.8bn, or 40...

June 30, 2020
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30Jun

UK. Regulator to focus on protecting savers amid Covid

The Pensions Regulator has said it will prioritise protecting savers during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as schemes continue to deliver benefits. The regulator's corporate plan for 2020-21, published this morning (June 29), sets out how it will continue to address the risks to the savers through regulatory interventions and scheme supervision. It also highlights the regulator’s determination to continue to fight against pension scams by taking action against fraudsters and working with other key industry organisations to...

June 30, 2020
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26Jun

UK. Key workers being targeted by pension transfer scammers – APJ

There has been an uptick in the number of key workers being targeted by scammers to transfer their pensions into high-risk self-invested personal pensions (Sipps), APJ Solicitors has said. The law firm revealed that is has been contacted by an increased number of NHS staff and other key workers who have been convinced to transfer their pensions and lose thousands of pounds in the process. It noted that the NHS defined benefit (DB) scheme is “one of the best...

June 26, 2020
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25Jun

U.K., China entities collaborating on draft China DC plan

The U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the People's Bank of China are collaborating on a proposal for an auto-enrollment system and a plan design for occupational defined contribution plans in China. Read also UK. Key workers being targeted by pension transfer scammers – APJ The partners' efforts are aimed at improving the share of private-sector workers in China that are covered by occupational plans, which supplement the state retirement system. Currently, about 7% of workers are covered by workplace...

June 25, 2020
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23Jun

UK. Long-awaited pensions dashboard enters next phase

The Money and Pension Service (MaPS) has announced that the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP) has moved into the next stage of the building process. The new platform will enable people to view all their pensions in one place, with the PDP having the responsibility to design and implement the new technology. Today marks the start of six weeks of “informal market engagement” which will enable the PDP to evaluate the efficiency and capacity of potential firms who could supply...

June 23, 2020
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22Jun

UK. TPR urged to nudge savers back into pensions

Employees who have opted out of their workplace pension during the coronavirus crisis should be encouraged back into saving more quickly than usual, MPs have said. Read also UK. Key workers being targeted by pension transfer scammers – APJ The Work and Pensions committee urged the Pensions Regulator (TPR) to consider helping such workers re-enrol sooner than the current three-year timeframe under auto-enrolment rules. Read also India. Govt may restrict foreign investment in pension funds The committee believes this is important...

June 22, 2020
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20Jun

Delivering DC? Barriers to Participation in the Company-Sponsored Pensions Market

By: Debbie Harrison, Alistair Byrne, David P. Blake. The report shows that pension providers and advisers are finding it increasingly uneconomic to market to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and are withdrawing rather than redoubling their efforts. This is an important and difficult issue for both government and private sector providers. SOURCE: @SSRN

June 20, 2020
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19Jun

UK. Coronavirus: Why the pension triple lock is back in the spotlight

At present, the state pension increases each year in line with the rising cost of living seen in the CPI measure of inflation, increasing average wages, or 2.5%, whichever of those three is highest. This is known as the triple lock, and it is a Conservative manifesto pledge for the five years of this Parliament. However, the technical aspects of state-paid wages during the coronavirus outbreak could lead to a big rise in the state pension if the government...

June 19, 2020
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