January 2020

10Jan

Brexit and pensions: everything you need to know

Retirement savers will have to keep an eye on state pension payouts, the value of the pound and consumer protections now the country’s exit from the European Union is imminent. After one of the most stunning political turnarounds in history, Brexit now looks almost certain to happen on Jan 31. But the question on most people’s minds will be what it all means for them and their money. Pensions will be affected in a number of ways and, like all things when it comes...

January 10, 2020
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08Jan

UK. Pension reform: Reckless bosses who plunder staff pensions to face seven years in jail

Reckless company bosses who plunder staff pension schemes will be jailed for up to seven years under proposed new laws introduced in Parliament last night. The Pension Schemes Bill will also trigger major reforms revolutionising retirement planning and boosting incomes by up to seven percent a year. Ministers said the package of measures would make Britain the “best place in the world” to retire. “With this Bill, we’re pushing ahead with our revolutionary pensions agenda and delivering for the millions of...

January 8, 2020
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07Jan

Athene Closes $6 Billion in Pension Risk Transfer Transactions During 2019

Athene Holding Ltd. ("Athene") (NYSE: ATH), a leading retirement services company, announced it has reached approximately $6.0 billion in total pension risk transfer (PRT) transactions for 2019, which includes approximately $800 million from a recently completed funded reinsurance transaction with a leading U.K. insurance company. Under the terms of Athene’s inaugural transaction in the U.K. market, which closed December 19, 2019, the Company will reinsure a block of pension benefit liabilities through its wholly owned subsidiary Athene Life Re...

January 7, 2020
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December 2019

31Dec

UK. Bank of England Governor warns of climate change threat to pension funds

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned pension schemes are at risk due to climate change unless they cut their investments in fossil fuels. The outgoing BoE chief made the comments in a pre-recorded BBC Radio 4 interview broadcast today (30 December). Read also UK. 20 key changes to tax, pensions, benefits, rail fares and more coming in 2020 He warned unless firms woke up to the 'climate crisis' certain assets would become worthless. Mr Carney said:...

December 31, 2019
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30Dec

UK. 20 key changes to tax, pensions, benefits, rail fares and more coming in 2020

A huge number of changes are planned for 2020 that will affect many aspects of your life - including changes to benefits, pensions and transport fares. Some of the moves will be good news for your finances - others will hit you in the pocket. Benefits are rising, while tax breaks are taken from landlords - and while the state pension is up, free TV licences are being taken away. There are also new rights coming affecting bank accounts...

December 30, 2019
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December 2019

18Dec

UK. Guy Opperman re-appointed as pensions minister

Number 10 and the Department for Work and Pensions have confirmed Guy Opperman has been re-appointed as pensions minister. The MP for Hexham was re-elected with an increased majority of 25,152 in last week’s election. He was first appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state at the DWP on 14 June 2017. He previously served as a government whip (lord commissioner of HM Treasury) from 17 July 2016 to June 2017. In his role as pensions minister, Opperman has urged pension...

December 18, 2019
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17Dec

UK. Pressure from the regulator has mounted in 2019

Financial advisers have faced shifting regulatory sands over the past 12 months, with the Financial Conduct Authority training its focus on a number of core areas. From boosting consumer protection, to placing greater responsibility on individual senior staff, we will look at the major regulatory themes of 2019 impacting the financial advice industry. SMCR Over the past year we have seen companies working hard to ensure they are fully prepared for the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, which has...

December 17, 2019
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16Dec

UK. Top civil servants given ‘lavish’ £1m pensions

The UK’s permanent secretaries, 23 individuals who head up UK government departments, had an average defined benefit pension worth £1.1m in 2018/19, according to research from the TaxPayers' Alliance. The figures, released by the think tank today (December 16), showed the average pension upon retirement of these officials will be £57,717 per annum - 94 per cent more than the average gross UK salary in 2018 (£29,817). The data was taken from the 2018/19 annual reports of UK government...

December 16, 2019
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12Dec

UK Pension Risk Transfer Market to Quadruple in Decade

The UK’s bulk annuity market is forecast to quadruple over the next decade, driven mainly by lower pricing as more pension plans mature and additional reinsurers enter the UK market, according to consulting firm Mercer. By the end of 2019, Mercer said it expects the bulk annuity market in Great Britain to exceed £40 billion ($52.6 billion), with the total UK risk transfer market, including longevity swaps, forecast to reach £50 billion. Mercer said it has also...

December 12, 2019
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11Dec

UK. The new pensions levy is deeply unfair

By Gregg Mcclymont Most of us spent our childhoods being conditioned to the reality that life is not fair. However, that does not make it any easier to digest when confronted with a situation that requires us to make our disquiet known. Plenty within the industry are allowing their voices to be heard in regards to the current situation surrounding the General Levy – the mechanism through which the Department for Work and Pensions extracts funding for The Pensions Regulator (TPR), the...

December 11, 2019
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