January 2018

10Jan

UK. Millions of workers face £120 hike in National Insurance bills to help fund the state pension

Millions of workers face higher National Insurance bills to fund state pensions, the government's own analysts have warned. The Government Actuary Department (GAD) said NI rates may have to go up by as much as 5 per cent to maintain the stability of the pension fund. This would mean an annual increase of £120 on the average worker's tax bill – and a £138 increase for their employer. Last night experts said the shocking projections underlined the depth of Britain's pensions...

January 10, 2018
News, Slider
Read more...
09Jan

UK. 140,000 carers miss out on £240-a-year boost to state pension

More than 140,000 carers could be missing out on hundreds of pounds a year in retirement as they have failed to take advantage of a government scheme to protect their state pension. Those who spend more than 35 hours a week caring for someone, even a relative, are automatically given National Insurance credits that preserve their right to a full state pension. Those who spend fewer hours as a carer must apply for credits, and it appears many are missing out. When the...

January 9, 2018
News, Slider
Read more...

December 2017

30Dec

Welfare State Reforms Seen from Below: Comparing Public Attitudes and Organized Interests in Britain and Germany

By Bernhard Ebbinghaus,‎ Elias Naumann Studying the political economy of welfare state reform, this edited collection focuses on the role of public opinion and organized interests in respect to policy change. It highlights that welfare states are hard pressed to reform in order to cope with ongoing socio-economic and demographic challenges. While public opinion is commonly seen to oppose welfare cuts and organized interests such as trade unions have tended to defend acquired social rights, this book shows that there...

December 30, 2017
Books, Regulation, , , ,
Read more...
29Dec

UK to sink to the bottom of OECD wage growth index in 2018

Britain is set to have the worst wage growth of any wealthy nation next year, ranking behind Italy, Greece and Hungary, according to analysis by the TUC. The UK is forecast to come bottom from 32 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wealthy nations for wage performance in 2018, according to the study of OECD figures by the unions’ umbrella group. British workers are expected to see their earnings decrease by 0.7% in 2018 when taking account of inflation, which has...

December 29, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
22Dec

New laws proposed by UK government on bulk transfers of pension rights

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) opened a consultation on the proposed new Contracting-out (Transfer and Transfer Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (16-page / 263KB PDF) on Thursday. It is the DWP's intention that the new rules would take effect from 6 April 2018. "These amendments will enable any salary-related occupational pensions right (active, deferred and pensioner) to be transferred to newly established schemes (that have never been contracted out) without member consent under specified conditions," the DWP said. "These conditions will be that...

December 22, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
22Dec

Thousands of UK Toys R Us jobs saved after deal with pensions body

Thousands of jobs at Toys R Us have been saved after the ailing toy retailer agreed to pump more than £9m into its pension plan over the next two years in a last-minute deal with the state-backed pensions lifeboat. The Pension Protection Fund joined landlords and other creditors in backing Toys R Us’s company voluntary arrangement (CVA) plan, which involves the closure of at least 26 loss-making stores from next spring as well as reducing the size of others. Consultations...

December 22, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
21Dec

British Steel pensions scandal: the story so far

This year's restructuring of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), the savings pot for workers at the Port Talbot steelworks, followed nearly 12 months of negotiations and helped to lift the threat of closure that had loomed over the factory. Union members voted to accept the closure of the BSPS, which paved the way for Indian conglomerate Tata, which runs the steelworks, to merge its European steel business with German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp. That means the scheme will fall into the Pension...

December 21, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
20Dec

The Pension Protection Fund aims to protect pensions – not management

By Nils Pratley It looks terrible for the Pension Protection Fund (PPF): the pensions lifeboat fund is planning to vote against a restructuring of the UK arm of Toys R Us, an action that could mean 3,200 people lose their jobs. On the company’s proposal, only 800 employees would depart and the others would resume the fight against Amazon’s invasion of the toy market. The PPF, however, is not to blame for this mess. Its hands are tied. The PPF’s jobis...

December 20, 2017
News, OP Ed, Slider, , ,
Read more...
20Dec

Toys R Us future in UK plunged into doubt over pension scheme

The retailer was told to put £9m into its struggling pension fund by the PPF in order for it to support the toy retailer's restructuring plan. Failure to agree a deal could put all its 3,200 staff at risk of redundancy. The PPF's Malcolm Weir said it believed it was "reasonable" to seek guarantees on the pension scheme's future. "Since the company lodged the CVA [company voluntary agreement] proposals we have spent significant time and effort, with the help of PwC,...

December 20, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...
12Dec

UK. FCA cracks down on steelworker pensions advisers

Three financial advice firms have stopped giving advice to steelworkers on transferring pension savings from a 15 billion pounds pot into other schemes, the Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday. The financial services industry watchdog has visited seven financial advisers and asked four more for information. “As a result of this work three firms have stopped advising consumers on pension transfers,” the FCA said in a statement. “The FCA plans to visit a further six firms this week.” Read more @Reuters

December 12, 2017
News, Slider
Read more...