August 2017

01Aug

UK. Aeolus gains £51m investment from London Pensions Fund Authority

UK local authority pension fund manager the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) made an investment of around £51 million in two of the reinsurance linked investment funds managed by Bermuda-based specialist Aeolus Capital Management Ltd. The investment was made in the calendar year ending March 31st 2017, according to the latest information from the £5.3 billion London Pensions Fund Authority. UK pension funds are increasingly becoming comfortable with the ILS and reinsurance linked asset class, with a growing number of authority...

August 1, 2017
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July 2017

28Jul

UK’s Pensions regulator fines for the first time ever a public service scheme

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) slapped the London Borough of Barnet with a £1,000 penalty for failing to submit its 2016 scheme return. TPR has been vocal in recent months over plans to get tough on pension scheme failings. It has promised to "intervene" where companies are treating schemes unfairly. Meanwhile, the government is consulting on plans to give TPR proactive, rather than reactive, powers to step in to prevent BHS-style corporate failings following large pension shortfalls. TPR issued Barnet council with a...

July 28, 2017
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27Jul

Pension crisis looms for UK women

That is according to new research by financial services firm Drewberry, which also shows that 75% of UK women have under £50,000 in their pension, compared with 57% of their male counterparts. In addition, it was found that 24% of all female workers in the UK earn less than £11,000 – almost three times the number of men – while 66% take home under 25,000, compared with 42% of males. This comes after the BBC was criticised last week when a...

July 27, 2017
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26Jul

UK. We see no reason why the State Pension Age should go beyond 66

The House of Commons has just risen for its summer recess, and it’s safe to say that MPs have a lot to reflect on over the next few weeks after a pretty eventful year. While a lot of the focus has rightly been on Brexit, given it has such huge implications for all of us, there is an important job to do in holding the Tories to account on the day-to-day business of government. One of the last announcements the Tory...

July 26, 2017
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26Jul

UK. NOW: Pensions exits regulator ‘assurance’ list after admin bungle in processing savers’ money

Workplace pensions provider NOW: Pensions has left a voluntary 'assurance' scheme operated by industry watchdogs after they raised concerns about the firm's administration and governance. But The Pensions Regulator stressed there was no suggestion savers' money was at risk, or that employers using NOW's services were not complying with duties to workers auto-enrolled into pension schemes. NOW admitted it was trying to sort out delays processing contributions from savers - an issue recently highlighted by This is Money after a reader's...

July 26, 2017
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21Jul

UK. Individual personal pensions fare worse than group pensions, shows research

The study finds that individual investors lose out by over 1 per cent a year in comparison with group personal pension plans negotiated by employers, even before differences in fees are taken into account. The findings suggest that personal investors are offered worse financial deals from the outset. The performance targets of the individual scheme funds are less challenging than their group counterparts and fund managers tend to be less successful in tracking their benchmarks. This is the first study to...

July 21, 2017
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20Jul

UK. State pension age to increase seven years earlier than planned

Britons born between 1970 and 1978 will have to wait an extra year, until they are 68, to claim their state pension, the government has announced. David Gauke, the work and pensions secretary, announced the controversial rise for about 7 million people in their late 30s and early 40s just before the House of Commons breaks up for its summer recess. The move implements the findings of a review by the former CBI director general John Cridland, published in March, which...

July 20, 2017
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17Jul

Frank Field accuses the UK pensions regulator of having its priorities the wrong way round

The UK's pensions watchdog must put workers’ interests ahead of those of shareholders, the chair of the work and pensions select committee urged today. Frank Field, who has been re-elected as the chair of the influential work and pensions select committee, hit out of the Pensions Regulator (TPR). He told City A.M. a failure to disclose names of the firms it was monitoring was “a marvellous way of covering inaction”. On Thursday the government revealed plans to provide the TPR with...

July 17, 2017
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13Jul

UK. Gay man wins Supreme Court case on equal pension rights

A gay man has won a landmark ruling which will give his husband the same pension rights as a wife would receive. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that if John Walker, 66, dies, his husband is entitled to a spouse's pension, provided they remain married. The ex-chemical company worker said it would "drag" the government "into the 21st Century", while human rights group Liberty said "thousands" could benefit. A government spokesman said it would review the implications of the ruling. BBC legal affairs...

July 13, 2017
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12Jul

UK financial watchdog concerned about what people are doing with their pension savings

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has flagged concerns about the way in which people are using their pensions since the introduction of landmark rules around retirement savings in 2015. The FCA on Wednesday said that it had identified several issues, particularly relating to advice and competition. A more extensive report is due next year. Under rules introduced in 2015, savers are able to access their retirement savings without having to buy an annuity, or income for life. The FCA said that...

July 12, 2017
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