August 2026
18Aug

Reform proposes ban on most benefits for foreign nationals in UK

Foreign nationals would be excluded from most benefits under a Reform UK government, the party has said. The ban, part of a proposed overhaul of Britain's benefits system, would include European Union (EU) nationals with settled status in the UK, meaning a renegotiation of the UK's Brexit deal with the EU. In a speech on Monday, the party's economy spokesman, Robert Jenrick, said: "The British taxpayer is acting as the welfare state for the world. That's unfair, we all know it." Reform...

August 18, 2026
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18Aug

UK. ​Single pensioners drive rise in retirement poverty, LCP finds

The consultancy said the overall pensioner poverty rate, measured on a consistent basis, rose from 15.7% in 2012-13 to 18.6% in 2023-24. Poverty among pensioner couples has remained relatively flat over the period, but rates have climbed sharply among single pensioners, particularly those who are divorced or have never married. More recent corrected figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, which are not yet available as a long-term series, put the poverty rate among single pensioners at 19.8% in...

August 18, 2026
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17Aug

UK. Logged in, checked out: The user experience problem pensions won’t face

The average pension app is a decade behind the average banking app. Until that changes, engagement is structurally impossible, argues PensionPay’s Archie Pritchett. Open a workplace pension app on a Monday morning – if you even have one – and in 30 seconds you can see a balance updated several weeks ago, a projection figure with no explanation attached, and a ‘change contributions’ page that ends with the words “please contact your employer”. Open a banking app, and in 30 seconds...

August 17, 2026
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13Aug

UK. TPR to accept multi-employer CDC scheme applications

The new framework gives employers and members an alternative to traditional defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension arrangements, building on the single-employer system introduced in 2021. CDC schemes offer a target retirement income for life rather than relying on individual pension pots, with benefits adjusted depending on investment performance and funding position. TPR urged organisations that are considering launching a CDC scheme to engage early with its supervision teams and Innovation Support Service. It has also published new...

August 13, 2026
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12Aug

UK. Retirement adequacy increasingly a business planning risk

In its latest paper, Retirement adequacy: identifying future risks in your workforce, the firm highlights how financial stress, changing retirement behaviours and an ageing workforce can affect employee productivity, absenteeism and workforce planning. The paper argues that retirement adequacy is no longer just a pensions issue, but a business challenge that employers need to understand and actively manage. Employers need to understand where adequacy risks exist within their workforce and take action now, before those challenges become harder and...

August 12, 2026
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11Aug

UK. DB scheme surplus rises to £271.3bn; funding ratio hits three-year high

The aggregate surplus of defined benefit (DB) schemes in the UK increased by £7.3bn during July to £271.3bn, as falling liabilities outweighed a decline in asset values, the latest figures from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have shown. The PPF’s 7800 Index showed that the aggregate funding ratio rose by 1.9 percentage points from 131.1 per cent in June to 133 per cent, the highest level recorded since July 2023. Total scheme assets fell by 1.7 per cent during the month, from £1.113trn...

August 11, 2026
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07Aug

Bequest-Motivated Decumulation of UK Pensions for Non-Domiciled Individuals: A Monte-Carlo and HJB Approach

By Sebastien Hitier We study the optimal decumulation of a UK pension pot for an expatriate holder who is tax-resident in a jurisdiction that does not tax investment income or gifts. Because the pension wrapper offers no ongoing tax shelter to heirs, the holder's sole objective is to minimise the expected present value of lifetime taxes-personal income tax on drawdowns plus inheritance tax at death. We formulate the problem as a stochastic optimal control with Gompertz-Makeham mortality, progressive UK taxation,...

August 7, 2026
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05Aug

UK. Employers spending over 62 hours a year on pension admin

Employers in the UK are spending more than five hours a month on managing workplace pension administration, analysis from Penfold has found. This equates to over 62 hours spent on pensions-related administration across a year, or more than a full working week. Penfold’s The UK Pension Gap report warned that these requirements remained a “significant burden” for many businesses. Regulatory reporting was cited as the most time-consuming pension task by 70 per cent of employers, while 69 per cent pointed to payroll reconciliation as...

August 5, 2026
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04Aug

UK. State pensioners on track for up to £539 extra cash in next triple lock boost

New state pensioners are in line for a huge boost to their annual benefit income - but will avoid a tax bill from HMRC for at least one more year. New state pensioners are in line for a boost to their state pension worth nearly £539 year. That's because the Triple Lock forecasts show that right now, the benefit is set to increase by 4.3% next year. The new state pension was introduced in 2016 and applies to all men born after April 5, 1951 and women...

August 4, 2026
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July 2026
31Jul

UK. Industry welcomes introduction of multi-employer CDC; focus turns to implementation

The pensions industry has welcomed the introduction of regulations for multi-employer collective defined contribution (CDC) arrangements, with the focus now shifting towards implementation. Regulations to enable unconnected multi-employer CDC schemes came into force today (31 July), as set out in the government’s workplace pensions updated roadmap. The government laid the regulations for multi-employer CDC arrangements in October 2025, aiming to allow the expansion of CDC schemes to more employers. “Today’s announcement is a landmark moment for UK pensions and a major step towards making...

July 31, 2026
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