October 2019

09Oct

UK. Two in five employers concerned by ageing workforce

After surveying employers with over 500,000 staff between them, the researchers found that 44% are worried about older employees that cannot afford to stop working. This has become particularly concerning after the default retirement age was scrapped in 2011, making it increasingly necessary for companies to provide pension support. However, most defined contribution (DC) pension schemes do not have adequate levels of contributions needed to maintain a similar standard of living for many employees. “The impact of an ageing...

October 9, 2019
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07Oct

UK. The Guardian view on women’s pensions: a feminist issue

Some means must be found to ease the hardship faced by the 1950s-born women worst affected by pension age changes. Last week the high court rejected the arguments in a judicial review brought by the campaign group BackTo60. The group argued that changes to the law in 1995 and 2011 were discriminatory on grounds of sex and age, and that 3.8 million women should be compensated. But while last Thursday’s loss was a setback, the campaign is far from...

October 7, 2019
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04Oct

UK. Defeat for women in state pension age challenge

Campaigners have lost a significant legal battle against the government's handling of the rise in women's state pension age. The retirement age for women rose from 60 to 65, in line with men, and will go up to 66 by 2020, and to 67 by 2028. Women born in the 1950s claim the rise is unfair because they were not given enough time to make adjustments to cope with years without a state pension. They argued the changes were...

October 4, 2019
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03Oct

UK. Opperman says Pensions Bill is ‘good to go’

The minister for pensions and financial inclusion has detailed the main areas that will be covered in the upcoming Pensions Bill, which he said is “completely ready and good to go”. Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester yesterday (October 1), organised by the Social Market Foundation and The Institute And Faculty Of Actuaries, Mr Opperman said his work on the bill was done, although he noted he was waiting for the Queen’s Speech...

October 3, 2019
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September 2019

30Sep

UK. State pension could rise by 4% next year – giving elderly £351 extra a year

If you reached state pension age before April 6 in 2016, you'll be receiving the old state pension, which means your payments would rise from £129.20 to £134.35 per week - or an extra £267.28 per year, insurer Aegon says. The state pension is currently protected by the so-called triple lock, which ensures it rises by at least the same rate as the cost of living. It means that the state pension increases either by 2.5 per cent a...

September 30, 2019
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26Sep

UK Expat pensioners advised to protect healthcare rights prior to Brexit

Over 3 years after the referendum the NHS anticipates problems in the 6 months following Brexit With the political scene in London appearing to be entering further turmoil following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was unlawful, there have at last been furtherrecommendations this week from Her Majesty’s Government regarding how expats in Spain and the rest of the EU, particularly pensioners, should prepare to protect their healthcare rights in the event of a no-deal...

September 26, 2019
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25Sep

UK watchdog threatens to shut ‘problematic’ pensions advisers

Britain's markets watchdog threatened on Tuesday to close "every single advisory firm" that continues to wrongly tell people to cash in their defined benefit pensions. Megan Butler, executive director of supervision at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the behavior among financial advisers was "shocking" and "problematic". Lawmakers have criticized the FCA for being too slow to stop advisers telling steelworkers in Wales to cash in their defined benefit pensions that are pegged to salaries rather than the ups...

September 25, 2019
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23Sep

UK. Universities: we fight for security and pensions

Philip Inman gave a misleading account of the University and College Union’s campaigns to defend university pensions and fight for job security and a manageable workload (“Academics are fighting the wrong battle over pensions”, Business). It is not correct to suggest that we are focusing on the fight to save our pension scheme at the expense of seeking better working conditions and more secure contracts for university staff, especially junior staff. In fact, UCU and its predecessor unions have...

September 23, 2019
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20Sep

UK. Pensions and healthcare at risk from no-deal Brexit

The financial advisory firm’s CEO, Nigel Green, warned that pension providers could lose the automatic right to make payments into European-based banks under no deal. These seamless transactions are currently possible thanks to a system known as ‘passporting’, a reciprocal arrangement of EU laws that allow payments across borders. Hundreds of thousands of pensioners could see this disrupted or completely stopped overnight, according to Green, who accused Boris Johnson of not even trying to get a deal. “The end...

September 20, 2019
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09Sep

UK. Are we away with the fairies on our pension expectations?

WOULD you like a job that pays £1.3 million a year? That is just the average expected salary among children aged eight to 15, when they get their first job, according to a new survey by Halifax. It's equal to nearly 38 times the average wage in the UK this year, proving that, unfortunately, our children are away with the fairies. They also believe that schoolteachers, firefighters and postmen are earning well over £100,000 a year. Wouldn't we all...

September 9, 2019
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