June 2017

20Jun

UK. £11bn merger moves closer for Scots financial services giants

STANDARD Life chairman Sir Gerry Grimstone has said the £11bn merger with Aberdeen Asset Management will create a global funds powerhouse run from Scotland but underlined the enlarged group’s expected commitment to the pensions and savings market. Speaking after shareholders in both firms gave strong backing to the proposal to combine the firms, Sir Gerry said the pension arm will play a key role in bringing in funds for the asset management business to invest. “The pensions and savings business in...

June 20, 2017
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19Jun

UK. FTSE 350 pensions in weakest position since 2009

British listed companies' ability to meet the obligations of their defined benefit, or final salary, pension schemes is at its weakest since 2009 as a result of falling gilt yields, consultancy firm PwC said on Monday. Low interest rates have increased the gap between pension schemes' assets, typically held in UK government bonds, and the fixed sums they need to pay to pensioners. Large pension deficits can reduce companies' ability to pay dividends as they divert cash into the pension schemes...

June 19, 2017
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16Jun

UK. New pensions minister to take on expanded role

Hexham MP Guy Opperman will be the new pensions minister, the Government has announced. Opperman takes over the brief from Watford MP Richard Harrington, who has been moved to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as part of the Conservative Party’s reshuffle. However, Opperman’s brief has been expanded to also include financial inclusion. The Government’s website entry still says that exactly what this entails will be confirmed “in due course”. Widening the pensions minister remit stands in contrast to criticisms...

June 16, 2017
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14Jun

UK. Pensions Regulator warns over dividends

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) warned it would "intervene" in individual circumstances where schemes were being treated unfairly. In a review of Britain's defined benefit pension schemes published today the TPR said British corporate profits have grown over the last three years. But as dividend paid have increased, there has not been an associated increase in payments into so-called deficit repair contributions, in other words, the amount paid to plug pension holes. SCHRODERS TALK UK election result: what it means for markets, the economy...

June 14, 2017
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13Jun

UK. BMW workers reject offer to end pensions dispute

BMW plans to link the value of a worker's pension to the pension fund's performance on the stock market, instead of final salary. 14:25, UK, Monday 12 June 2017 BMW logos are seen on an automobile wheel at the 2017 New York International Auto Show in New York City, U.S. April 13, 2017 Image: The long-running dispute at BMW is over changes to its pensions scheme Workers at three BMW plants in the UK have voted to reject a deal designed to end a long-running...

June 13, 2017
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12Jun

Regulator questions UK pension providers on use of offshore reinsurance.

The UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority, a division of the Bank of England, is reported to have begun questioning UK pension insurers and providers over their use of offshore reinsurance to transfer pension risks. Bank of England logoWith pension de-risking a top priority for insurers, as pension providers grapple with lower returns and longevity risk, among other issues, offloading some or all of a pension scheme to reinsurers has become increasingly attractive. The UK’s Times newspaper reported at the weekend that Sam...

June 12, 2017
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09Jun

How Gold Can Rescue Pensions

The World Economic Forum, in conjunction with Mercers (the actuaries) recently estimated that the combined pension deficit currently stands at $66.9tr for eight countries, rising to $427.8tr in 2050. The eight countries are Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Netherlands, UK and US. Of the 2016 figure, $50.5tr is unfunded government and public employee pension promises. Yes, we are now talking in hundreds of trillions. Other welfare-providing states missing from the list have deficits that are additional to these estimates. $66.9tr is...

June 9, 2017
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07Jun

UK. Nicola Sturgeon goes on the offensive at Tory ‘plunder on pensions’

Campaigning in the North East ahead of tonight’s STV debate, she made the point that a vote for Ruth Davidson's party would mean Tory MPs that would “rubber stamp” the cuts of Theresa May. Her appeal was to older voters who she claimed could make a crucial difference in an election that has seen the Tory throw away a 22 point lead and led to parties in Scotland asking for votes in anticipation of being kingmakers in Westminister. The SNP have...

June 7, 2017
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02Jun

UK. Women born in the ‘abandoned decade’ feel ‘penalized’

Official parliamentary figures show that a total of 2.66 million women have lost out due to the changes introduced in the Pension Acts of 1995 and 2011, affecting women born between April 1953 and April 1960. Shocking statistics show some women in this age bracket have lost on average up to £12,000, according to House of Commons Library figures, due to having their retirement age pushed back. Under the 1995 Act, the government decided that the pension ages of both men...

June 2, 2017
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May 2017

26May

UK. Pensions are sitting on a global time bomb, warns WEF

The world’s biggest economies are sitting on a $70 trillion (£54 trillion) pensions time bomb that will balloon to more than $400 trillion within four decades unless policymakers take urgent action, the World Economic Forum has warned. Analysis by the WEF showed the six countries with biggest pensions – the US, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Canada and Australia – as well as China and India – the two most populous countries in the world – faced a retirement savings gap of $428 trillion in 2050,...

May 26, 2017
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