April 2024
12Apr

UK. TPR finds trustees are taking action on climate risks and opportunities

Pension trustees are acting to address climate risks and opportunities, with more than 60 per cent of pension schemes included in The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) latest review having some form of net-zero goal with a target date of 2050 or earlier. Following the introduction of new climate-related disclosures for schemes with more than £1bn in assets under management in 2022, TPR undertook an analysis of a selection of reports in an effort to help raise standards across the industry. This review...

April 12, 2024
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11Apr

UK. Public demands government action on pensions and climate

According to a poll by responsible investment organisations ShareAction, Make My Money Matter and Finance Innovation Lab, 77% of people believe the government should do more to ensure pension holders have additional retirement savings, while 65% think ministers should encourage pension funds to tackle climate change. The organisations unveiled a five-point plan, Better pensions for all and a sustainable, productive economy: Proposals for reform, which they said would prevent the UK from “sleepwalking” into a pensions crisis. It includes increasing the...

April 11, 2024
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10Apr

The country with the most generous retirement in the world

The UK state pension notoriously pays a meagre income that barely covers the basic cost of living in retirement. Even those who receive the full £11,500 a year face a shortfall of almost £3,000 on what is required for a ‘minimum’ standard of living, according to pension industry guidelines. But are British pensioners really any worse off than their counterparts in Europe and around the world? And just how generous are state pension schemes in other countries? With the help of pensions firm...

April 10, 2024
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09Apr

Pensions giant to create UK superfund in boost for Hunt

Britain’s biggest long-term savings and retirement business is drawing up plans to launch a new superfund to back fast-growing companies in a boost for Jeremy Hunt. Phoenix, which owns insurer Standard Life, is in the early stages of creating a multibillion-pound investment vehicle that insiders say will help turbocharge investment in high-growth sectors and lift pension returns. This includes pooling cash to invest in life sciences and fintech businesses, as well as injecting long-term venture capital into unlisted companies in the...

April 9, 2024
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09Apr

UK. Cover story: Pensions are on life support – but how do we save them?

We are in the midst of a pensions crisis. For a long time, experts have warned that UK adults aren’t saving anywhere near enough money to ensure a comfortable, or even moderate, retirement. But now it feels as though we’ve reached breaking point. If pensions were a person, it’s probably safe to say they’d be on life support. Let’s take a quick look at the facts. Around a fifth of working-age private-sector employees — approximately 3.5 million people — do not pay anything...

April 9, 2024
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08Apr

UK. Women’s pension pots ‘worth half of mens’

The comparison with male pensions find women’s savings are dwarfed, with men’s pensions average around £75,000. It was also found that men are ‘more likely to manage their own pensions’ than women. Independent research conducted on behalf of Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management on gender and the wealth gap. Nearly a third of women were found to have pensions below £25,000 and only one in 10 women have a pension exceeding £100,000, whole this is true for nearly a third...

April 8, 2024
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05Apr

UK. Single pensioner income inequality widens over past decade

The gap between the poorest and richest single pensioners has increased "considerably" over the past decade, analysis by Broadstone has found. The analysis of the Department for Work and Pensions’ pensioner income series showed that single pensioner incomes in the bottom quintile grew by 2 per cent before housing costs between 2010/11-2011/12 and 2020/21-2021/22. This is an average increase of £208 per year. Those who are in the top quintile saw income growth over the same period of 9 per cent,...

April 5, 2024
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05Apr

UK: FCA to examine asset management fees, pensions

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is to launch a market study on asset management to examine charges paid by investors, the regulator said on Tuesday, as it laid out its business plan for the coming year. Other areas of focus include examining whether pension firms are helping consumers make the right choices, following an overhaul announced in 2014 which eased requirements on people to buy annuities as part of their pension. “The business plan is set against the backdrop of the...

April 5, 2024
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04Apr

UK. The Pensions Regulator unveils fresh 2030 climate targets

UK regulator plans to focus on cutting gas, electricity, business travel, water and waste emissions in short term on course to achieving net zero across its operations and supply chain by 2050 The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has unveiled a suite of fresh climate targets, including a goal to slash its operational greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by the end of the decade compared to 2017/18 levels. The UK regulator, which set out its first climate change strategy three years...

April 4, 2024
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03Apr

UK: Pensions Regulator: Chief Executive Outlines Changing Role Of Regulator

On March 12, 2024, the Chief Executive of the Regulator, Nausicaa Delfas, delivered a speech on the changes to the pensions sector and how the Regulator is responding. The speech addresses the growing influence of scheme consolidation across both DB and DC schemes, the changing role of trustees in producing transparency and value for members, the emergence of superfunds and the broadening powers of the Regulator around compliance, oversight and analysis. On the Government's Mansion House reforms, the Regulator believes that productive assets...

April 3, 2024
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