September 2018

19Sep

UK. Regulator to monitor 60 pension schemes ‘one to one’

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is to launch a new approach to its workplace pension regulation which will see it provide 'one to one' supervision of 60 pension schemes. The new range of interventions aim to address risks sooner, clarify the regulator's expectations and take action where necessary. It will include the introduction of a supervision regime to monitor schemes more closely, with higher and lower intensity interventions dependent on the risks identified. From next month, TPR will implement one-to-one supervision for...

September 19, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
18Sep

Watchdog Vows ‘Radical Shake-Up’ For Pensions Sector

Law360, London (September 17, 2018, 4:53 PM BST) -- A growing number of Britain's workplace retirement funds will face tougher scrutiny starting next month as part of a “radical shake-up” by The Pensions Regulator, the watchdog said Monday. Schemes of all sizes and across all sectors can expect more contact with the regulator as it accelerates efforts to identify risks and intervene sooner, outgoing Chief Executive Lesley Titcomb said in a statement. “Following a complete review of our entire approach to...

September 18, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
17Sep

Medium-Run Implications of Changing Demographic Structures for the Macro-Economy

By Yunus Aksoy (Birkbeck, University of London),Henrique S. Basso (Birkbeck College, University of London) & Ron Smith (Birkbeck College) In the decade since the onset of the financial crisis, the disappointing recovery has sparked renewed concern about the medium-run outlook for advanced economies. Rather than returning to the pre-crisis trend, output has continued to diverge from it. It is difficult to know whether this is a cyclical phenomenon, a slow recovery towards steady state, or a secular change in the...

September 17, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Savings, ,
Read more...
12Sep

European Court: UK Pension Lifeboat Should Lift Compensation Cap

Last Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that pensioners should receive a minimum of 50 percent of the value of their pension in the event that their employer eventually goes bust. The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the pensions lifeboat of the United Kingdom, had imposed a cap for the compensation of employees who had lost their pensions when their employers went under at £35,000. The CJEU reviewed the case of Grenville Hampshire who lost approximately 67 percent...

September 12, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
12Sep

UK. Millions risk a ‘minimum wage’ old age

Millions of workers are facing a “minimum wage pension” as automatic enrolment contributions are too low, experts warned yesterday. The amount put into employees’ “defined contribution” pots has fallen dramatically in six years. The average amount saved into pensions by employees and their employers was 3.4 per cent of salary in 2017, falling from 4.2 per cent in 2016 and from a 9.7 per cent high in 2012. This is despite the number of people saving for their old age reaching...

September 12, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
07Sep

UK. Pension savers heading for retirement shock as average contributions fall – experts warn

Total membership of occupational pension schemes in the UK was an estimated 41.1 million in 2017, the highest level recorded by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey. But looking at defined contribution (DC) pension schemes in the private sector, the average contribution rate being paid into savings pots by employees and their employers was 3.4 percent in 2017, falling from 4.2 percent in 2016. The launch of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, which started in 2012, has boosted the number...

September 7, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
06Sep

UK. Industry comment on Pensions Dashboard announcement

Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London said: “This announcement is a huge breakthrough after a period of uncertainty. There is much that the industry can do to deliver a dashboard, but only the government can supply vitally important state pension data and only the government can legislate to make sure that the dashboard’s coverage is comprehensive. Backed by this renewed commitment by the government, the whole pension industry now needs to work together to drive forward this...

September 6, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
06Sep

What are the retirement ages around the world?

Retirement ages, or the age when some sort of government pension can be received, varies around the world. The OECD average for a normal pension age is currently 64.3 years for men and 63.7 years for women. While life expectancy has risen in many countries and governments grapple with ageing populations, any attempts to make people wait longer to collect benefits are usually met with fierce opposition, as Russia and Australia found out recently. Read more sbs

September 6, 2018
News, Slider, , , , , , , , , , ,
Read more...
05Sep

UK. Pensions dashboard run by industry gets green light from government

Work and pensions secretary approves the introduction of the pensions dashboard, provided the financial services industry runs it Pension savers will be pleased to hear that the government has finally committed to the so-called pensions dashboard. This is a technological initiative to allow pension savers to see all of their savings pots in one place. State pension entitlement data was set to form the cornerstone of the pensions dashboard. Doubts have been cast about whether the platform would prove useful without the...

September 5, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
04Sep

UK. Fracking investments by council pension funds ‘unlawful’

More than £600m was provided by council pension funds to firms with fracking operations overseas in 2016-17. Campaigners argued the situation appeared "to fly in the face of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act". Council leaders said "great consideration" was given to making responsible investments. The Welsh Government is currently consulting on its position not to grant new licences for fracking in Wales, having had a moratorium on the practice in place since 2015. In October it is set to receive control over...

September 4, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...