July 2025
21Jul

UK. Government revives landmark Pensions Commission to confront retirement crisis that risks tomorrow’s pensioners being poorer than today’s

Millions of people could benefit from a more secure retirement as the Government today [Monday 21 July 2025] revives the landmark Pensions Commission to examine why tomorrow’s pensioners are on track to be poorer than today’s and make recommendations for change. The Commission of 2006 was a huge success, building a consensus for the roll-out of Automatic Enrolment into pension saving that means 88% of eligible employees are now saving, up from 55% in 2012. However, new analysis shows that there...

July 21, 2025
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18Jul

UK. Webb sets out ‘three tests’ for govt pension review

Former pensions minister and LCP partner Steve Webb has set out ‘three tests’ against which the second stage of the government’s pensions review should be judged. Focusing on the adequacy of pension savings, Webb said the first test needs to be questioning whether the review is given a ‘free hand’, including recommending reforms which will cost the government money. Most changes to the system, including getting people to save more, will have a cost implication, such as through higher costs of...

July 18, 2025
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17Jul

UK. New idea to tax inherited pensions worth £90k-plus floated – instead of imposing inheritance tax

The Government is being urged to slap income tax on inherited pensions worth £90,000-plus instead of making them liable for inheritance tax. Another option is to impose a tax charge at death on unspent pensions worth £150,000, £200,000 or £250,000, according to a finance industry group calling for a radical rethink of inheritance tax changes due in two years' time. Just levying income tax or charges on inherited pensions direct would reduce the burden on grieving families yet still rake in...

July 17, 2025
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16Jul

Government and industry ‘united’ in determination to drive returns and boost UK investment

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the government and the industry are "united" when it comes to delivering for savers and the UK economy. During her Mansion House speech yesterday (15 July), Reeves said: "Pension funds and this government are united in our determination to deliver higher returns for savers and more investment for the economy." Last year at Mansion House the government set out an overhaul of the UK pensions system which included proposals for the creation of defined contribution and Local...

July 16, 2025
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15Jul

Pension Transfer Delays Put Trust at Risk, Says New PensionBee Report

UK pension provider PensionBee is renewing its call for a legally enforced 10-day pension switch guarantee, warning that long delays and inconsistent processes are causing real harm to savers. Its latest report, Ending Pension Purgatory, reveals that nearly half of consumers found transferring a pension difficult, while three in five said delays were harming their ability to manage their retirement savings. The findings follow earlier research with financial advisers that uncovered widespread frustration with delay, with some transfers taking over a year, and a growing...

July 15, 2025
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14Jul

UK. DWP benefits warning as payments could be slashed by 15% in certain scenarios

Universal Credit and Pension Credit are essential sources of financial support for many in the UK. Yet, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) cautions that, in highly exceptional cases, claimants could experience reductions of 5% to 15%. These cuts, called 'third-party deductions', happen when a benefits recipient owes debts like court fines, rent, Council Tax, or energy bills. Usually, deductions are made at a fixed rate until the debt is paid off, with a maximum of three debts being...

July 14, 2025
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11Jul

UK. DC pensions continue to back Net Zero despite ESG backlash

Barnett Waddingham’s latest DC Sustainability Report finds a 34% increase in allocations to funds with a climate target in the growth stage since original 2021 report. Despite this, providers have on average 35% of growth assets exposed to investment managers who have stepped away from climate collaboration initiatives. Misalignment between UK DC schemes and global asset managers on sustainability requires a strategic shift to ensure ESG ambitions are fulfilled.     Against the backdrop of anti-ESG sentiment among many global institutional investors,...

July 11, 2025
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11Jul

The Pensions Review: final recommendations

By Jonathan Cribb, Carl Emmerson, Paul Johnson, Heidi Karjalainen & Laurence O’Brien This final report of the Pensions Review, a major project launched in April 2023 by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, in partnership with abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, examines the main risks to today’s working-age individuals in the UK pension system and sets out policy proposals primarily focused on improving outcomes for future generations of retirees. This report does further analysis and draws on the large number of reports...

July 11, 2025
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10Jul

UK. Older Brits delay retirement while younger workers risk being underprepared

Older Brits are delaying retirement due to the rising state pension age (SPA), according to research from the University of Bath, yet many younger workers, particularly women, risk being underprepared by holding onto unrealistic early retirement hopes. The research revealed a “clear” gap between expected and actual retirement behaviour, with younger workers expecting to retire before reaching SPA, while older workers tend to revise their plans when they are already close to retirement when opportunities to boost savings and continue...

July 10, 2025
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10Jul

UK. BoE governor says mandating pension investments is ‘not appropriate’

The government's proposed power to influence investment decisions within defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, outlined in the Pension Schemes Bill, has faced renewed scrutiny after Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, cautioned that such an intervention would not be "appropriate” and require “a lot of heavy lifting". According to the Press Association, Bailey said today (9 July) that he supports structural changes in the pensions industry but rejected the idea of mandating where schemes should allocate capital, stating: “I do not...

July 10, 2025
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