January 2019

09Jan

UK. Pension cold-calling ban takes effect

A ban on nuisance calls about pensions has now come into force but people are still being urged to be on their guard. Cold-calling has been used by fraudsters trying to steal life savings or persuade people to invest in high-risk schemes. Some 10.9 million unsolicited pension calls and messages are made a year, according to Citizens Advice. Any firm found flouting the rules faces a fine of up to £500,000, but experts suggest fraudsters may ignore the ban....

January 9, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
07Jan

UK. Pensions data is stuck in the ‘dark ages’, says former pensions minister Ros Altmann

The pensions industry is “light years behind where it should be” in the way it handles data, endangering the success of modernisation drives such as the government’s pensions dashboard project, according to a former pensions minister.Many small firms still handle employee data manually from spreadsheets, and half of customer auto-enrolment data uploaded by these companies to pension scheme providers’ systems subsequently contains errors, according to research.Conservative peer and former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann said the high error...

January 7, 2019
News, Slider
Read more...
02Jan

‘We have to adapt where we can’ – the struggles of coping with an ageing population

With a 31pc increase in people aged over 65 in 15 years, organisations and individuals are working hard to handle what many see as a crisis - the ageing population. Norfolk County Council spends on average £1m a day on adult social care in Norfolk, with around 14,000 people using its services day to day. More still are looked after by family and friends. The county has an older population than most in the UK, which is predicted to...

January 2, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...

December 2018

21Dec

UK. Pensions cold-calling to be banned from January

The long-delayed cold call ban has finally been approved into law, and will be effective from 9 January next year. Its introduction marks the end of an arduous journey that saw the government put off implementing the cold call ban on multiple occasions. Initially the ban was scheduled to come into force at the end of June this year but the Treasury delayed it due to “technicalities”. The government then announced progress on a pensions cold calling ban among...

December 21, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
21Dec

Tax relief and fintech could help self-employed to save more into pension

Government will look to nudge self-employed workers to save towards a pension with the help of tech but tax reliefs may provide more effective in the long-run. The amount of self-employed workers who save towards their pension has more than halved in ten years, from 30 per cent in 2006/07 to 14 per cent in 2016/17 while self-employed workers grew from 3.3 million in 2001 to around 4.8 million this year. This has helped to create a self-employed pensions...

December 21, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
19Dec

UK. Can The Government Really Help Self-Employed Workers With Their Pensions?

In 2012, the UK Government launched a minimum contribution pension scheme for employed workers, meaning that a proportion of their monthly salary would be automatically withdrawn and saved for them to access at retirement age. The scheme was well-received, with 10 million workers being automatically opted in and only 9% of those enrolled choosing to opt-out. However, this automatic enrolment didn’t account for the self-employed, who make up an estimated 15% of the UK workforce. According to Guy Opperman, Minister for...

December 19, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
19Dec

No-deal Brexit: New government guidance won’t reassure pensioners in France

The UK government released more "no-deal" Brexit guidance on Tuesday aimed at reassuring those citizens living in the France who receive pensions and benefits but the information is unlikely to ease their worries. The British government announced on Tuesday that it would implement its no-deal Brexit contingency plans in full, which will include putting 3,500 troops on standby and reserving ferry space for supplies. With Theresa May's Brexit deal seemingly doomed the government has decided to ramp up its no-deal planning,...

December 19, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
18Dec

UK. Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell forced to pay £124,000 for failing to provide information about pension scheme

BHS went into administration in April 2016 leaving a pension deficit worth £571m, following Sir Phillip Green’s sale of the business to Mr Chappell the previous year. Sir Philip Green ordered to pay £363m into BHS pension scheme The Pensions Regulator (TPR) says it requested vital information about the sale of the business and its pension scheme from the former bankrupt three times. The ruling follows an appeal from Mr Chappell against his original conviction in January. BHS owner fined by pensions regulator Judge...

December 18, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
12Dec

UK watchdog orders shake up of advisors to pension trustees

Poor competition in the market for advice to pension fund trustees has resulted in "substantial customer detriment", Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday. UK pension schemes have total assets of 1.6 trillion pounds ($2.04 trillion), and the dominant advisors are Aon, Mercer, and Willis Towers Watson. Half of pension schemes buy fiduciary management that makes investment decisions on their behalf, from their existing investment consultant. It announced a range of reforms to the investment consultancy and fiduciary management sector, saying...

December 12, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
11Dec

UK in push to consolidate defined benefit pension schemes into ‘superfunds’

The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation into the prospect of consolidating defined benefit (DB) pension schemes into so-called ‘superfunds’ to improve security for members. The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation into the prospect of consolidating defined benefit (DB) pension schemes into so-called ‘superfunds’ to improve security for members. The consultation paper (68 page / 688KB PDF) suggests that encouraging a well-managed superfund sector could be a more effective way...

December 11, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...