January 2019

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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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
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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
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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
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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
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