July 2024
11Jul

UK. Wish list for new Pensions Minister

The new pensions minister, Emma Reynolds, must address the key challenges of adequacy, sustainability and intergenerational fairness facing the industry and the millions of savers across the UK as a priority, says Hymans Robertson. The leading pensions and financial services consultancy also says, it would like to see the new government deliver on the key pensions’ initiatives that are underway as the firm lays out its pensions policy wish list. Commenting on the need for rapid action from the new...

July 11, 2024
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10Jul

UK sets out plans for National Wealth Fund

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has launched a National Wealth Fund (NWF) to unlock private investments in “green and growth industries”. The Labour government has allocated £7.3 billion to the initiative, which will be allocated through the existing UK Infrastructure Bank so investments can start being made immediately. The Treasury said it had, alongside the department for energy security and net zero, convened a meeting with the Green Finance Institute-chaired and investor-backed NWF taskforce set up to advise the government on...

July 10, 2024
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09Jul

UK. Three things the new Labour govt must do for pensions

Three things need to be put at the top of Labour's list for solving the UK's pension problem, Aviva's Alistair McQueen has said. The head of savings and retirement for Aviva told FT Adviser he welcomed the reforms outlined by new chancellor Rachel Reeves this morning (July 8) but said the pensions profession was not hoping for "any new, flashy ideas." "The three priorities should be to implement the 2017 auto-enrolment reforms, implement the pension dashboard, and conclude the advice/guidance boundary review." According to McQueen,...

July 9, 2024
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08Jul

UK. The Pensions Regulator to challenge master trusts on investments

The Pensions Regulator will shift its focus onto the making sure master trust investments deliver for savers, now it has taken regulatory responsibility of these vehicles. The growth of master trusts has been driven by the introduction of automatic enrolment in 2012 and in 2018 the Government introduced a regulatory framework which meant only master trusts authorised by TPR were permitted to operate. Neil Bull, TPR’s executive director of market oversight, said following the completion of this process the regulator would...

July 8, 2024
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05Jul

Pensions industry awaits review as Labour wins UK election

After a landslide election win last night, the UK will be looking to Labour to advance key priorities within the pensions industry, including a promise to “review the current state of the pensions and retirement savings landscape”, as per the party’s manifesto. Morten Nilsson, chief executive officer of Brightwell (former BT Pension Scheme Management, the asset management arm of the UK’s largest corporate defined benefit pension scheme), said: “A top priority for the new Labour government will be getting the planned pensions review under way.” He...

July 5, 2024
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04Jul

UK. Election 2024 manifestos: Parties’ pledges on disability, PIP, pensions and workers’ benefits

The party vows to reform disability benefits so they are “better targeted” and improve PIP assessments to make it more specific to someone’s need – following a consultation. The party wants to stop the number of claims from rising and argues people with mental health issues, for example, may not need as much financial support as someone with a physical disability. Labour Labour would work with councils to help match up disabled people, or those with health conditions, with jobs as...

July 4, 2024
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03Jul

Nearly 24 million UK adults have poor financial literacy

Some 23.3mn UK adults have poor financial literacy making them £20,000 worse off compared to those with good financial literacy. The data comes from Abrdn’s first release of its ‘Savings Ladder index’ which gauges financial literacy levels in the UK. Abrdn asked respondents the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Centre’s ‘Big 3’ financial literacy questions and found that 20 per cent could not correctly answer any of the questions asked of them, while a quarter could only answer one. According to Abrdn, those...

July 3, 2024
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02Jul

UK. DC pension schemes see rise in investments in assets with climate targets

The defined contribution (DC) pension scheme market has seen almost a quarter (23%) increase in schemes’ investment in assets with climate targets since 2021, according to research from Barnett Waddingham. The majority (86%) of DC pension schemes have set targets to reach net-zero by 2050, with 18% of these targeting 2040. Of the pension schemes that have set net-zero targets, 81% have committed to achieving interim targets, in many cases aiming to achieve a 50% emissions reduction by 2030. Barnett Waddingham said:...

July 2, 2024
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June 2024
28Jun

Hidden Figures: LGBT Health Inequalities in the UK

By LGBT Foundation  We believe in a fair and equal society where all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people can achieve their full potential. Our work started in 1975 and we’ve been changing the lives of LGBT people ever since. Over the last five decades, we’ve provided information, services and support for LGBT people who’ve had nowhere else to turn. We’ve been at the forefront of the social and legal changes that mean LGBT people in the UK have more rights...

June 28, 2024
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28Jun

UK trustee boards show robust governance frameworks – survey

A recent survey conducted by WTW has shown that most UK pension schemes are not overwhelmed by the new requirements of the General Code, with only 1% of respondents expecting significant changes to comply with it. The WTW 2024 Trustee Governance Survey — of 132 trustees, pension managers, and other stakeholders in March and April 2024 – has shed light on the evolving landscape of pension scheme governance in response to the newly implemented General Code, which came into effect in March 2024. It...

June 28, 2024
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