UK Archives - Page 179 of 182 - Pension Policy International

24MayMay 24, 2017

UK. Government austerity demands that we die within our means

As we move towards the general election, we are paralyzed by what is probably the biggest single issue affecting ordinary people in the country: austerity. We are unable to fully understand both the economic madness of austerity and the true scale of the human cost and death toll that ‘fiscal discipline’ has unleashed. Since coming into power as Prime Minister, Theresa May has made a strategic decision not to use the word ‘austerity’. Instead she has adopted a more palatable...

May 24, 2017

NewsUK

18MayMay 18, 2017

UK. State pension ‘triple lock’ to go: effects on the retirement income

The "triple lock" on state pension increases are set to be shelved by 2020 by a Tory government. The Government is to call time on the measure which promises the state pension will rise each year by the highest of one of three measures: wage growth, inflation or 2.5pc. Introduced by the Coalition government in 2010, the lock means the basic state pension is worth £106.8p a year more than it would have been if only a "double lock" - based...

May 18, 2017

NewsUK

17MayMay 17, 2017

UK. Tata Steel agrees British pensions deal

India's Tata Steel (TISC.NS) has agreed the main terms of a deal to cut benefits for its British pension scheme in a move that will see the firm back a new plan that will pose less risk to the company. The pension scheme is a major stumbling block in talks to merge Tata's British and European steel assets with those of Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE), because the German company is opposed to taking on 15 billion pounds ($19.37 billion) in UK pension...

May 17, 2017

NewsUK

17MayMay 17, 2017

UK. Pensions tax loophole caused by election

Next month's snap election forced the Government to abandon a number of previously announced policies in the Finance Bill that was going through Parliament when Theresa May made the surprise announcement. One of the policies culled was a cut in the amount you can save into a pension each year, from £10,000 to £4,000, for those who have already used the "pension freedoms" to access their pot. There was no change for people yet to touch their pension, they can...

May 17, 2017

NewsUK

15MayMay 15, 2017

UK. May Pledges Protections for UK Gig Economy Workers, Pensions

Theresa May on Monday will pledge to broaden employment rights in Britain as the country pulls out of the European Union, outlining a raft of promises designed to safeguard pensions, gig economy workers with companies such as Uber Technologies Inc., and wages. The prime minister will say that if her Conservative Party wins the June 8 general election, she’ll follow up on recommendations made in a review into U.K. working practices she commissioned in 2016 by Matthew Taylor, former policy...

May 15, 2017

NewsUK

12MayMay 12, 2017

UK. Pensions regulator director to leave for local government scheme

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) director Andrew Warwick-Thompson will leave his role to join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Warwick-Thompson (pictured) has been executive director for regulatory policy at TPR since 2013. In the role he is responsible for TPR's policies on pension schemes, including master trusts. Warwick-Thompson will become chief executive of LGPS Central in July, which administers defined benefit schemes for some local authorities in Midlands and the North West. TPR is in the process of appointing a successor to Warwick-Thompson. Lesley...

May 12, 2017

NewsUK

12MayMay 12, 2017

UK. ACA opposes additional powers for The Pensions Regulator

On member protection and new powers for the Pensions Regulator, the ACA response says ‘we do not believe that there is any significant evidence that members need additional protection or that substantial new powers are needed for the Pensions Regulator. Whilst several recent high-profile cases have raised the question of whether members have adequate protection, the outcome of these cases has seen members generally receiving (or expecting to receive) benefits above PPF minimum levels, which should be regarded as...

May 12, 2017

NewsUK

05MayMay 5, 2017

UK pension deficits rise to £145bn; liabilities at record high

Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey data shows that the accounting deficit of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes for the UK’s 350 largest listed companies rose from £133bn at the end of March to £145bn on April 28th. Deficits were volatile over the month ranging from £132bn to £155bn. After the announcement of the UK election and the first round of the French election results there was a slight improvement by £4bn and £7bn, respectively, but deficits finished the month £12bn...

May 5, 2017

NewsUK

03MayMay 3, 2017

UK. Retirement: are pensions going to be much smaller in future?

Increasing life expectancy has seen the number of years in which people spend in retirement creep ever upwards. Using census data, the Office for National Statistics calculated that in 1981 a 65 year old man could expect to live another 13 years (17 for a woman). By 2011 this had increased by five years to 18 years of retirement (21 for a woman). By 2050, more than 50,000 Britons are expected to reach 100, and it is now predicted that...

May 3, 2017

NewsUK

02MayMay 2, 2017

350,000 Workers Benefit After Billions Pulled From Asset Managers

Britain’s $32 billion railway pension scheme has halved the cost of running its biggest asset pool by moving investments in-house. RPMI RailPen, which oversees the retirement assets of 350,000 British railway workers, pulled billions of pounds from hedge funds and other money managers, reducing the cost of overseeing its main fund to half a percentage point. And there’s more cost-cutting to come, says the firm’s investment chief. “Fifty basis points is not bad for something that has property in it, but...

May 2, 2017

NewsUK

May 2017