October 2018

17Oct

UK. Pension fund manager found guilty of stealing almost £1m

A pension fund manager at the UK’s Westminster City Council has been found guilty of stealing nearly £1m from an employee retirement scheme. Ian Woodall, 47, duped colleagues into approving successive payments by disguising them as investments. Over the three years from 2009, Woodall siphoned off £924,841 from the £1bn employee pension fund. Woodall then transferred the money to Swiss bank accounts and later moved it back into his British accounts, from where he used the money to refurbish his new...

October 17, 2018
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16Oct

South Africa Loses QROPS Status For Expat Pensions

South Africa has dropped off the list of financial jurisdictions offering QROPS expat offshore pensions. The latest HM Revenue & Customs QROPS List published on October 15, 2018, confirms the removal of the last QROPS based in South Africa. The ABSA Group Pension Fund was the final South African QROPS. Neither ABSA or HMRC have commented about the removal. Generally, QROPS are delisted for three main reasons: HMRC is probing the administrative or tax status of the scheme The last member has drawn down on...

October 16, 2018
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12Oct

The Creation and Benchmarking of a Green Municipal Bond Index

By Candace Partridge (University College London - QASER Laboratory), Francesca Medda (University College London - QASER Laboratory) As the green bond market grows, many are wondering if there is a pricing difference between green bonds and conventional bonds. In order to explore these ideas, we created bond indices specific to the green-labelled and climate-aligned municipal bond market, primarily to test the competitiveness of the green sector of the muni bond market against the overall muni bond market. We used the...

October 12, 2018
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09Oct

UK. Pensions rules leave women shortchanged

Women born in the 1950s are on the march about cuts to their state pensions, says Pamela Judge, while Judith Abbs is underwhelmed by the increase she’ll get for being 80 Letters On 10 October, 1950s-born women and their supporters will travel from all over the UK to Parliament Square in London to stand shoulder to shoulder and protest about the loss of up to six years’ state pension, for many a sum of over £40,000. We received little or no...

October 9, 2018
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08Oct

UK. Many workers mistrust pensions industry, survey finds

Many people still mistrust the pensions industry, according to a report which found a strong appetite among workers for their money to be saved with ethics in mind. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of people think it is important their pension scheme considers the environment, society and corporate behaviour when investing their money, a survey of members of workplace pension scheme Nest found. But general levels of trust in pensions are low and seem unchanging, according to its report. Nest also carried out a...

October 8, 2018
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08Oct

UK. Legal & General strikes 2.4 billion pounds pension de-risking deal

Legal & General (LGEN.L) said on Monday it had agreed a deal to insure 2.4 billion pounds in pension risk with the Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan, adding its deal pipeline was at a record high. L&G is at the forefront of demand from some insurers to take on pension-related risk from companies, so-called ‘bulk annuities’, and said at the half-year stage that it expected sales to drive earnings into the end of the year. The deal with Nortel allows the...

October 8, 2018
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05Oct

UK. Pension fund manager accused of stealing £1m to buy house

A pension fund manager at one of the richest authorities in the UK stole almost £1m from a council employee retirement pot to buy a new house and car, a court has heard today (4 October). Ian Woodall, 47, tricked colleagues into signing off payments from the £1bn pension fund by disguising them as investments, jurors heard. Woodall allegedly siphoned off £924,841 from Westminster City Council, between 2009 and 2012, while employed as the pension fund manager. He is said to have...

October 5, 2018
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02Oct

UK. The longevity dividend: How to make the most of our ageing society

It is well known that the UK is ageing. In 1976, only 14 per cent of the population was aged over 65, today it is 18 per cent, and in 2036 it is estimated to be 25 per cent. Over the same period, the median age is expected to rise from 34 to 43. The economic implications are widely seen as dismal. Fewer workers will lead to falling GDP growth, while rising pensions and medical costs will push government debt ever...

October 2, 2018
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01Oct

UK. Pension annual allowance penalties leap to £517m

Record 16,590 people paying penalty on 2016-17 pension contributions The tax take from individuals paying a tax penalty for breaching the £40,000 annual allowance hit £517m ($673m, €580m) in the 2016-17 financial year ­– a huge increase from £143m in the previous year. The number of taxpayers reporting this through their tax returns reached 16,590, up from 5,430 in 2015-16. Meanwhile, the yield from those breaking the lifetime allowance (LTA) in 2016-17 reached £102m, involving 2,120 taxpayers, up from £66m and 1,180...

October 1, 2018
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September 2018

27Sep

UK. Pension bosses banned for 34 years after abusing members’ funds

Four directors of companies that formed part of a group involved in the transfer of millions of pounds of pensions have been banned for a total of 34 years. Karl Dunlop, Stuart Grehan and Ian Dunsford previously accepted disqualification undertakings for their management roles within the group of companies involved in the transfer of pension funds. Stuart Grehan, Director of Sycamore Crown Ltd and also known as Stuart Chapman-Clark, agreed to a 9-year voluntary ban as a result of false and...

September 27, 2018
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