June 2025
18Jun

UK. Focus on members amid government reform demands, LGPS urged

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) needs to retain a focus on the “day job” of providing pensions for some of the UK’s poorest paid workers, despite the significant distractions posed by government reform and other demands. Speaking at an industry conference this week, Roger Phillips, chair of the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board for England and Wales, said the government was “very interested in us” – which he warned presented a challenge to the system’s existence. “But we need to keep doing our...

June 18, 2025
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18Jun

Pension Schemes Bill will help to deliver a UK pensions system fit for the future

The government has released the first draft of the Pension Schemes Bill 2024-2025, with a roadmap that sets out its plan to implement reforms across defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) workplace pensions. The draft bill and roadmap published on 5 June bring together reforms that are mostly intended to improve retirement outcomes for members and to support UK economic growth as part of the government's plan to deliver a "private pensions system fit for the future". The bill does not, however, include any...

June 18, 2025
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12Jun

UK households told to ‘hoard physical cash’ as millions rush to act

UK households have received an advisory to 'hoard physical cash' amidst economic uncertainty and concerns about outages, with Brits taking action in response to worldwide instability. The Bank of England's chief cashier has observed that families are creating emergency cash reserves as they did during past crises related to Covid and living costs. On Tuesday, Victoria Cleland highlighted the trend of UK households amassing a cash contingency pot, noting the substantial rise in banknotes circulating in recent months. "At a time...

June 12, 2025
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11Jun

UK’s DB schemes remain in ‘robust shape’, PPF 7800 shows

The Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) 7800 Index for May painted a broadly positive picture of defined benefit (DB) schemes, as the aggregate surplus of the 4,969 schemes in the PPF 7800 Index increased by £18.6bn, rising from £202.5bn to £221.1bn. The index showed a 2.8 percentage point increase in the funding ratio, reaching 125.6 per cent, while just over seven in 10 (71.8 per cent) of all schemes were in surplus, or 3,569 in total. Commenting on the report, PPF chief...

June 11, 2025
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10Jun

Will UK Pension Savers Soon Take on More Risk and Pay Higher Fees?

Key Takeaways LTAF market expected to keep growing. Mansion House Accord commits pensions to private assets. Most UK pension saving won’t lead to a comfortable retirement. Asset managers can charge higher fees for more complex products. The UK government believes increasing the exposure of retirement funds to private assets will boost returns, but experts also say it gives a “lifeline” for asset managers to charge higher fees for their expertise. And there are also concerns about how much risk pension...

June 10, 2025
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06Jun

UK. FCA leads global crackdown on rogue finfluencers

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has led a coordinated international crackdown on illegal financial promotions by unauthorised online influencers, known as “finfluencers”. Nine regulators from countries, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, the UAE and the UK, took part in a global enforcement effort that began on 2 June 2025. In the UK, the FCA made three arrests in collaboration with the City of London Police, initiated criminal proceedings against three individuals and invited four others for interview. It also sent seven...

June 6, 2025
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05Jun

UK Government promises sweeping changes under the Pension Schemes Bill

The government today published the Pension Schemes Bill, setting out a raft of legislative changes it believes will bring about pension reform, the bill sets out the framework to consolidate pension schemes to create ‘megafunds’ of at least £25 billion to drive economies of scale and more pension scheme investment in UK plc, as set out under the government’s recent Pension Investment Review. Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, comments: “With the publication of the Pension Schemes Bill, the government is...

June 5, 2025
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04Jun

UK. Private sector providers essential to dashboards success, says ABI

Private sector dashboards must be facilitated “without delay”, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), to ensure savers can benefit from additional visibility and accessibility of their retirement savings. In a new report, the trade body has urged the government to support the launch of dashboards from private sector providers, including insurers. This would help reach more consumers and provide additional services beyond the current “view only” approach, it said. The government-backed MoneyHelper dashboard – run by the Money and Pensions...

June 4, 2025
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03Jun

What The Chancellor’s ‘Megafunds’ Plan Means For UK Pensions

UK pension savers are already used to jargon but will have to add “megafunds,” “LTAFs” and “legislative backstop” to their lexicon following substantial changes made to the industry in recent weeks. The Labour government, less than a year in power, is keen to overhaul UK pensions with a view to improving returns for the £800 billion invested in UK defined-contribution schemes and create a virtuous circle where this investment boosts the ailing domestic economy. The UK is looking to Australian and...

June 3, 2025
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May 2025
30May

Real estate welcomes renewed government commitment to pensions ‘megafunds’

The government has fleshed out its plans to double the number of "pension megafunds" alongside reforms expected to have a major impact on real estate and infrastructure investment in the UK. The government has published its Pensions Investment Review – Final Report and its response to the Options for Defined Benefit schemes consultation, setting out what will be addressed in legislation, in particular, the Pensions Scheme Bill due later this year. Announcing the publications the Treasury said reforms to be introduced through...

May 30, 2025
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