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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08Sep

Amber Rudd quits cabinet and attacks PM for ‘political vandalism’

Boris Johnson’s government was in danger of imploding on Saturday night as the work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd, quit the cabinet and resigned the Conservative whip, saying she could not stand by while “loyal, moderate MPs” were purged from the party. Rudd told Johnson she had joined his cabinet “in good faith accepting that no deal had to be on the table”. She added: “However, I no longer believe leaving with a deal is the government’s main objective.” While she could...

September 8, 2019
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03Sep

UK. New £8 million research centre to explore how digital technology will impact future of work

A major new research centre exploring how digital technologies are changing the world of work is to launch at the start of 2020. The Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit Centre) will operate from the business schools of the universities of Sussex and Leeds and aim to provide a compelling empirical base for policy makers beyond current levels of speculation as to the impact of new technologies on jobs and workers. The centre, which includes Eversheds Sutherland, Marks...

September 3, 2019
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02Sep

Government branded immoral over pensions of UK citizens in EU

The government will not give a lifetime guarantee to index-link the pensions of British nationals who have retired in the EU if there is a no-deal Brexit, a decision that has been described as “immoral” by campaigners. The government currently continually increases the payout of the basic state pension by either 2.5%, average wage growth or by the consumer price index, whichever is higher, on a reciprocal basis under EU regulations, a practice known as uprating. The government has...

September 2, 2019
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02Sep

Great Brexit Insurance Migration Shifts $75 Billion From London

London’s outsized role in the global insurance industry is being whittled down by Brexit. As much as 61 billion pounds ($75 billion) of business is shifting to rival financial centers in the European Union as a consequence of Britain’s vote to leave the bloc. And it’s happening regardless of the divorce terms. The EU’s insurance and pensions regulator has ordered every U.K.-based underwriter to transfer policies held by European clients to units on the continent. While the bulk of...

September 2, 2019
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