January 2019

28Jan

UK. On pensions, the government has placed freedom over protection – but will it make us better off?

Many are choosing cash over annuities because they don’t think they will live long enough to get good value from an annuity, even though many would. In short, lots of people are making a financial mistake The “pushmi-pullyu” in the 1967 film of Doctor Dolittle was a double-headed llama, with one head facing forward and the other back. Pensions policy in the UK in recent years has borne a resemblance to this contradictory animal. In 2012 the government introduced...

January 28, 2019
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24Jan

UK. Stay at home parents risk losing thousands from their state pension if they don’t register for Child Benefit

The Government’s information about state pensions clearly isn’t up to scratch. It needs to put this right urgently When new parents are thinking about their household finances, many will consider claiming Child Benefit. Many will not, however, think about National Insurance credits. Yet registering for Child Benefit builds up entitlement to the state pension for parents of children under 12 who don’t build up National Insurance contributions for another reason, such as through work. Put simply, a stay-at-home parent...

January 24, 2019
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24Jan

UK’s world-famous Beefeaters on strike over pensions

Workers at the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace — including some of London's famed Beefeaters — are on strike in a dispute over pensions. The historic attractions, among London's most popular, remained open Tuesday despite the work slowdown, which is the second in the last two months. The dispute is between workers and Historic Royal Palaces, which operates a number of prominent sites in Britain. Union officials say a recent settlement offer was not good enough. The...

January 24, 2019
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21Jan

Protect your pension pots from investment scams and negligent trustees: UK government

The Insolvency Service is warning people to guard their pension savings from investment scammers and negligent trustees. Since 2015, the Insolvency Service has applied to the courts to wind-up 24 companies that have carried out a form of pension misuse. The pension misuse varies from convincing people to access their pensions and invest in unregulated schemes to pension trustees not carrying out their duties properly. The Insolvency Service has estimated that there have been close to 3,750 victims connected to...

January 21, 2019
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19Jan

Migration, Remittances and Brexit: European Labor Market Integration and Its Effects on Inequality and Convergence

By Pawel Langer (New York University) & Laszlo Tetenyi (New York University) The increase in migration from Eastern to Western Europe after their accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004 resulted in a large increase in remittances to New Member States (NMS) and were comparable in size to FDI or EU funds. This paper adds to the literature by analyzing the impact of remittances and migration jointly, rather than separately, on the integration of EU economies and their implications...

January 19, 2019
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18Jan

UK. New pension should have multiple designs

Pension experts have urged the government to be flexible in its approach to creating a new risk-shared saving vehicle, to ensure that a wide range of members’ needs are covered. Responding to a consultation on collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes, which closed yesterday (January 16), consultants Aon and XPS, along with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), put forward their views. All three stated establishing a retirement saving model that shared risk throughout a broad pool of...

January 18, 2019
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17Jan

UK. Pensions regulator calls on advisers to get behind cold-calling ban

The Pensions Regulator has called on financial advisers to stand behind the cold-calling ban by doing more to report potential scammers. In a blog post this morning, TPR frontline regulation director Nicola Parish calls on IFAs to show clients the FCA’s Scam Smart website to alert them to the warning signs of fraud, particularly when the are considering a pension transfer. Parish writes: “The move by the government to make good on its pledge to make pension cold calling an offence sends...

January 17, 2019
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16Jan

Benefits rule changes could cost pensioners in UK thousands a year

Thousands of poorer UK pensioners who have partners of working age could lose up to £7,000 a year in top-ups as a result of imminent rule changes that will require them to claim universal credit as a couple.Changes slipped out on Monday night by the Department for Work and Pensions mean that from 15 May, new pensioners whose partners are younger than the state retirement age of 65 can no longer claim a means-tested top-up called pension credit.Instead they will be...

January 16, 2019
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11Jan

UK. Local government workers to receive increased pensions protections

Consultation to look at strengthening pensions protections for local government staff who have had their roles outsourced. Public sector workers will receive increased pensions protections in the event their job is outsourced, in proposals published today (10 January 2019). The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is consulting on reforms to ensure local government workers whose roles are compulsorily transferred to independent providers, retain the right to remain in the Local Government Pension Scheme. Under the reforms, transferred...

January 11, 2019
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10Jan

UK. Nine key pensions issues that will hit the headlines in 2019

2019 promises plenty of developments that will keep trustees, employers and advisers busy. From Brexit to superfunds, pension professionals will have to grapple with new legislation, consultations and revised guidance. In this update, we outline nine key pension issues that are likely to dominate the pensions landscape this year, plus some other developments to look out for. Nine key pension issues for 2019 1. Brexit means Brexit, but what will it mean for pensions? At 11pm on 29 March 2019, the UK...

January 10, 2019
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