May 2020
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
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
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
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
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
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
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
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
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
News, Slider, Uncategorized, , , , ,
Read more...
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
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
13May

UK. Women in lower-grade jobs hit by pension change ‘at greater risk of depression’

Women in lower-grade occupations forced to work up to six years longer because of changes to the state pension age are a third more likely to suffer debilitating, potentially permanent, depression, research has found. The changes to the state pension age (SPA) have also resulted in a widening gap in health between women from different occupations, according to a paper by academics at King’s College London. “Our research is important because we know that worsening mental health will lead...

May 13, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
13May

Some insights from the ‘United Kingdom 2020: Workplace Pensions Consumer Study’

The "Workplace Pensions Consumer Research Report 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. 55% of all consumers have a workplace pension Over half of all consumers have a workplace pension and among consumers with workplace pensions, most (51%) have a defined contribution (DC) pension with just over four-in-ten owning a final/career average pension. 85% of adults with a workplace pension have a pension with their current employer, with 15% having legacy pensions from previous employers. This report is...

May 13, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
08May

The DB landscape Defined benefit pensions 2019

By The Pensions Regulator Welcome to the fourth edition of the DB landscape publication, TPR’s annual reporton the defned beneft (DB) pension schemes that we regulate. We have taken this information from the pension schemes register on 31 March 2019 and included DB an hybrid occupational schemes with more than one member. Our publication differs from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF)’s Purple Book as their data includes only those DB scheme, eligible for the lifeboat fund. We present the...

May 8, 2020
Books, System Sustainability, ,
Read more...
08May

UK. FCA allowed uninsured adviser to finish nine DB transfers

The regulator allowed an adviser to complete nine defined benefit pension transfers at the end of last year despite the work being excluded from the firm's insurance. The advice firm notified the Financial Conduct Authority in August 2019 that it was unable to renew its professional indemnity insurance to cover defined benefit transfer activities, and was subsequently told to cease writing this type of business and transfer any pipeline clients to another adviser. The firm objected, instead asking...

May 8, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...