April 2019

17Apr

UK. Govt urged to tackle ‘social inequalities’ caused by state pension reforms

The government is being urged to draw on examples from other countries when it comes to implementing state pension reforms without causing further social inequalities, as it was found the current UK reforms have the potential to "exacerabate inequalities". In a new report from the International Longevity Centre (ILC), the think tank draws on research by Extend project that found that the state pension reforms have significant potential to exacerbate social inequalities. The research by Extend found...

April 17, 2019
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16Apr

UK. MP fights frozen pensions policy

Sir Peter Bottomley, a Conservative MP for Worthing West, has tabled an early day motion against government rules which dictate a freeze of some expat state pensions. The Department for Work and Pensions introduced rules in March that restrict the state pension annual increases in cases where the beneficiary is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain. Currently the majority of pensioners living in the UK have their state pension increased according to the triple-lock principle, meaning it is by...

April 16, 2019
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15Apr

UK. State pension age changes ‘risk creating new inequalities’

Making people work longer before they can collect their state pensions risks exacerbating social inequalities and threatens to create new gender inequalities, a report claims. Analysis by the thinktank International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) found that women who struggled to reconcile longer working lives with caring responsibilities would be badly hit by changes to the law. Worst hit, however, would be women with lower education levels, who were projected to lose up to 25% of their monthly pension entitlements...

April 15, 2019
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12Apr

UK. Pensioners to protest at HSBC’s annual meeting

Sharon McGeough-Adams faces losing £200 a month from her HSBC pension and will protest at the bank's annual general meeting on Friday to demand changes. Having worked for the UK's biggest bank for more than 37 years, she says it is money that could be put aside for other necessities, such as fuel. The loss is caused by the bank's move to reduce pension payments when the recipient receives state pension. HSBC has said it would cost £450m to...

April 12, 2019
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11Apr

How to successfully support an ageing workforce

Open the pages of any business magazine and there is likely to be an article on the millennial workforce – what they need from their employer, the benefits of millennials in business. But what about the benefits of an ageing workforce? There are now more than 1.2 million workers aged over 65, and almost one in seven is part of this age group. With state pension age continuing to rise, the lifecycle of employees is changing. Employees in...

April 11, 2019
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10Apr

UK parliament pension fund takes first step towards fossil fuel divestment

Parliament’s pension fund trustees are to reconsider the rules of their investments to take account of the risk of climate change, in a first for MPs’ finances. While stopping short of a promise to fully divest from fossil fuels, the pledge by the trustees marks an important first step towards assessing and reducing the effect of the pension fund’s investments – which are ultimately paid for by the taxpayer – on climate change. The move is a victory for...

April 10, 2019
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09Apr

UK. Why the increase to workplace pension contributions is a much bigger deal than you think

To some this will seem just another of those irritating little deductions that come through on salary slips, but in reality the amount you contribute will have a huge impact on your future From Saturday, the start of the new financial year, the 10 million or so Britons who are included under the pensions auto-enrolment legislation will have their workplace pension contributions go up from 5 per cent of their salary to 8 per cent. Employees have to contribute...

April 9, 2019
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08Apr

More UK firms eye collective DC pensions

With the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) working to pass legislation to roll out collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes, several firms are considering them for their employees. Around one in eight (13%) corporate pension scheme decision-makers believe that their company is either likely or very likely to adopt CDC schemes in the coming six years, according to a recent survey of by global corporate advisory firm Willis Towers Watson. That is, of course, provided the DWP’s...

April 8, 2019
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05Apr

UK. Green light for dashboards in 2019 puts pension savers in driving seat

Amber Rudd unveiled proposals today (4 April) to support industry to deliver free, user-friendly services showing people their pensions information online. Savers will be in the driving seat with all the facts and figures about their pensions and potential retirement income at their fingertips in one place for the first time – on smartphones, tablets and computers. Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said: With record numbers saving for retirement as a result of our revolutionary reforms, it’s...

April 5, 2019
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01Apr

UK. Accountant jailed after regulator uncovers pension scheme fraud

An accountant who fraudulently took over £290,000 from a pension scheme has been jailed for more than three years. Roger Bessent was trustee and administrator for the Focusplay Retirement Benefit Scheme – the pension scheme for the accountancy business he was a director of. Savers’ money was transferred into new business ventures that he, his family and a client attempted to run. Bessent also used the money to buy himself and his wife a house to rent out as...

April 1, 2019
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