July 2025
03Jul

UK. IFS recommends state pension and auto-enrolment changes to boost adequacy

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has made four recommendations for improving pensions adequacy that it believes would improve the state pension and boost private pension savings by around £11bn a year. The recommendations are the result of a two-and-a-half-year research project exploring how to improve retirement outcomes, and come as the government has promised to begin its own pension adequacy review in the coming months. The report calls for changes that take into account the needs of low earners who...

July 3, 2025
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03Jul

PLSA rebrands to Pensions UK as part of fresh five-year strategy

The pensions industry’s trade body has rebranded itself as Pensions UK following a detailed review of its strategy, and set out a plan to expand its reach and influence over the next five years. Pensions UK, as the organisation will now be known, was previously the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), a name it adopted 10 years ago. Announcing the new brand and strategy at an event last night (1 July) in London, Emma Douglas, chair of Pensions UK, said...

July 3, 2025
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02Jul

UK. Govt urged to take ‘decisive’ action to address ‘serious’ pension risks

The government has been urged to take "decisive" action and introduce a four-point pension guarantee, after the Institute for Fiscal Studies' (IFS) pension review suggested that "serious problems" remain for the next generation of pensioners. As its review of the pension system draws to a close, the IFS, in partnership with Abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, shared its final report outlining a comprehensive roadmap for reform, which is aimed at addressing "serious challenges" facing the UK pension system and "substantial risks"...

July 2, 2025
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01Jul

UK. Increase in pension contributions would create tough times for small businesses

Small businesses would be forced into some tough trade-offs if pension contributions were to rise by 6%, according to a report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The vast majority (92%) of businesses would have to raise their prices, recruit fewer workers, cut profits or reduce the number of employees to cope with a doubling in pension contributions, the FSB said. The organisation called for a full economic assessment, along with a review of how workplace pension changes impact employers, before...

July 1, 2025
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June 2025
27Jun

The At Retirement Reckoning: Barnett Waddingham’s investigation into the UK’s retirement landscape

By Barnett Waddingham The British pensions industry is, once again, at a critical juncture. It seems every provider, regulator, and adviser is watching with bated breath as the time bomb of UK retirement saving ticks closer to detonation. And with every new day, the likely ripple effects of the impending disaster get bigger. The past 14 years of Conservative rule saw the pension landscape shift notably. The introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012 successfully widened the UK’s saving base and helped tackle...

June 27, 2025
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27Jun

UK. Govt confirms plans to review pension scheme sustainability reporting requirements

The government has announced that it is considering whether to update the current rules surrounding pension schemes' sustainability reporting, confirming that it will review the 2021 Climate Change Reporting Regulations this year as part of this. The update was one of a number of measures announced by the government today, as it shared three consultations, which form part of the first phase of its work to modernise the UK’s sustainable finance framework. This included a consultation on the draft UK Sustainability...

June 27, 2025
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26Jun

‘Long way to go’ despite improvements in UK retirement optimism

Retirement optimism in the UK is slowly increasing, but there is still a long way to go, as over half (52 per cent) of Brits are not optimistic about being prepared for retirement, research from State Street Global Advisers has revealed. The survey showed that there have been improvements, with one in five (20 per cent) people stating that they are optimistic that they will be financially prepared for retirement by the time they plan to stop working, up 6...

June 26, 2025
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25Jun

UK. Govt urged to adopt relative pension adequacy measure over ‘pounds and pence’ approach

The government has been urged to adopt a relative pension adequacy measure, rather than a 'pounds and pence approach', with analysis from Hargreaves Lansdown suggesting that relative measures better reflect the income needs of different groups. The research from Hargreaves Lansdown, in partnership with Oxford Economics, looked at four different ways to measure pension adequacy, revealing that there are "clearly" challenges with all of the approaches. In particular, the research found that whilst 'pounds and pence measures', such as the Pensions...

June 25, 2025
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25Jun

UK pensions remain committed to net-zero

UK pension schemes are increasingly committed to climate- and nature-focused investing, even amid geopolitical instability and the growing politicisation of net-zero, according to new research. The report, Climate Innovation – Investing in the Net-Zero Economy, released by Pensions for Purpose and commissioned by SAIL Investments, found that 40% of UK pension schemes now have dedicated climate allocations, while 60% regard climate risk as a core fiduciary responsibility. “In our conversations with pension funds, we found that they do not expect political volatility, particularly in the US,...

June 25, 2025
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24Jun

UK. Why the real problems of the pensions dashboard are yet to start

The pensions dashboard project's aspirations made sense a decade ago, but industry changes mean the government should focus its efforts on other aspects of pensions, writes James Floyd The ambition of the government's much-vaunted pensions dashboard has nearly been realised, but after a decade in the making, the real problems are likely still to come.  It was back in 2014 when the Financial Conduct Authority vocalised its notion of enabling consumers to see all their pension savings in one place.  With the Retail Distribution...

June 24, 2025
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