December 2024

‘Heartless’ multinationals exploiting pensions loophole for UK workers

Some of the world’s richest companies are accused of exploiting a loophole in pension law to freeze increases in payouts for many former UK employees, despite the cost of living crisis. The companies, which include Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), American Express and Pfizer, are being urged to “do the right thing” and increase these frozen pension payouts in line with inflation. MPs have condemned the failure of companies to increase the payments in the face of high inflation in recent years as...

UK Government denies compensation to Waspi women

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended the decision to reject compensation for women hit by changes to the state pension age, arguing that the taxpayer "simply can't afford the tens of billions of pounds" in payments. He added that "90% of those impacted knew about the changes that were taking place". However, during Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir was repeatedly pressed on the government's decision, with one MP calling for a vote. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign group say that...

U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves to delay second part of government pensions review

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has delayed a critical second phase of a government review into the pensions sector, according to reports in the Financial Times. In July this year, Reeves had announced a pension review to “boost growth and make every part of Britain better off,” according to an official government release. The interim report of the first phase was published at a Mansion House event on November 14, with the second phase and publication of a...

Aon UK DC Pension Tracker – Q3 2024: State Pension increase drives rise in savers’ expected incomes

By Aon Over Q2 as a whole, the Aon UK DC Tracker rose which suggests the expected future living standard in retirement provided by defined contribution (DC) savings was higher than at the end of the previous quarter. All members benefited from the April 2024 increase in the state pension, which increased from £10,600 to £11,500 per year. The oldest saver saw the largest proportionate increase from this change as the state pension makes up a larger proportion of their expected retirement income. Positive returns...

UK. DC retirement expectations fall for young savers amid ‘flat’ investment returns

The expected future living standard in retirement provided by defined contribution (DC) savings fell for young savers in Q3, following "flat" investment returns, Aon’s UK DC pension tracker has revealed. The youngest saver’s expected income in retirement decreased by around £170 p.a. (0.5 per cent), driven by the increase in expected inflation and a decrease in the expected future investment return assumptions post-retirement. An increase in future expected return assumptions before retirement partially offset these decreases. However, older savers’ expected retirement...

How climate change will impact pension fund investment portfolios

Failure to transition to a low-carbon economy could cost pension schemes up to 30% in investment losses by 2050, according to new research. Analytics and risk management firm Ortec Finance analysed the investment portfolios of 30 large UK pension schemes based on exposure to climate change risks. It modelled seven different scenarios for the global transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources, and found that real estate and listed equities were the most vulnerable asset classes if any...

Just 19% of UK savers have factored getting a serious illness in to their retirement plan

Just a fifth of UK savers (19%) have fully considered getting a serious illness in their retirement plan, according to research by consultancy Barnett Waddingham. Its At retirement reckoning report, which surveyed more than 5,000 UK employees, also found that 25% of respondents under the age of 50 have prepared for this possibility, compared to just 16% of those aged over 50. Two-fifths (43%) of this older age group have thought about it but not included it in their retirement planning, and 32%...

UK pensions are £283bn worse off than we thought. Time to panic?

The Pension Protection Fund’s annual Purple Book is almost universally regarded as the authoritative “state of the nation” guide to the UK’s private sector defined benefit schemes — their assets, liabilities, sizes, number and asset allocations. And given that this class of fund commands close to one and a half trillion pounds of assets, their actions are of wide interest. The headline from last year’s almanac was that these DB schemes — in aggregate — could afford to ‘buy-out’. That...

How widening inequalities signal a warning for the UK pension system

The government has made a commitment to “tackle all the inequalities that pervade our society” in “a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer”. But what does inequality mean for pensions and, ultimately, for living standards in later life? That’s the question that underpins a report we published last month. For many people, income inequality is the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about inequality in the UK, and for good reason. The UK has had higher income inequality...

UK. Pension issues for 2025

Commenting on what is top of his Christmas pension wish list and the year ahead, Paul Waters, Head of DC Markets, Hymans Robertson, says: “Top of my wish list for 2025 is that stage two of the Government’s Pensions Review will deliver a coherent long-term plan for addressing UK retirement savings adequacy. Ideally, this will include future state pension provision and will work for all members of society. Collective DC will feature prominently in 2025 and we are optimistic about...