June 2017

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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24May

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
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18May

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
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17May

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
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17May

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
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15May

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
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