September 2018

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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04Sep

UK. Union call for pension funds clean-up over links to Donald Trump’s migrant camps

UNISON has proposed a merger of pension pots and the creation of a new ethical investment unit. The call comes after The Sunday Post revealed £138 million of Scottish workers’ pension cash was being used to bankroll the US President’s immigration detention centres. The funds are managed by global finance firms with huge investments in GEO Group and CoreCivic, America’s largest private prison operators. Strathclyde Pension Fund, which manages pension funds for 230,000 public service workers, has £52m invested. Lothian Pension Fund, with...

September 4, 2018
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03Sep

UK. Tax relief on pensions serves to enrich the wealthy. That must change

Pensions tax relief is a juicy morsel for the chancellor should he find a way to make it benefit the exchequer. Even a small slice of the £38bn spent each year subsidising pension saving could help thousands of schools and hundreds of hospitals that would otherwise be starved of cash. A £10bn saving is not outside the bounds of possibility, and that is without even shaking the system to its foundations. All Philip Hammond needs to do in his autumn...

September 3, 2018
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August 2018

30Aug

UK. Pensions: don’t cash out of defined benefits, warns regulator

Pension schemes are being warned they may be being too generous when offering cash lump sums to people considering transferring out of their gold-plated deals. A letter sent by the Pensions Regulator to defined benefit (DB) pension schemes suggests that trustees think about whether they should cut the amounts on offer for workers leaving the pension scheme. The letter has been sent to 14 schemes where the regulator is aware there has been a particular increase in transfer requests from members....

August 30, 2018
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29Aug

Theresa May In Africa: The Future Of Fintech In South Africa, Nigeria And Kenya

A delegation of UK fintech specialists joined Prime Minister Theresa May on her first official trip to Africa and will visit South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya to meet with entrepreneurs to establish trading and export ties in these emerging markets. Representatives from Azimo, the Financial Conduct Authority, Standard Chartered, Farm.ink, the London Stock Exchange Group and the Prime Minister’s Ambassador for Fintech were just some of the 29 leaders that accompanied May on the trip in order to forge connections...

August 29, 2018
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