November 2023
01Nov

UK: Pensions Dashboards: Connecting The Pots

For the first time, members will have information about all their pension savings, including their State Pension, in one place. Pensions Dashboards will be a catalyst for change across the pensions industry. Are you ready? At WTW, we believe a key part of Pensions Dashboards being effective and successful is ensuring that they form part of an engagement and education framework. For pension scheme trustees and sponsoring employers, there are benefits to a powerful Dashboard framework and risks associated with...

November 1, 2023
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October 2023
31Oct

UK trustees should challenge advisors but government needs to lead change

Around £1.2 trillion of UK pension fund assets lies in around 5,000 defined benefit schemes that primarily invest in Gilts and corporate bonds. With a suite of initiatives, the government is attempting to get the country’s fragmented DB (and DC) pension sector to invest more in illiquid assets and help fuel economic growth, as well as exploring how to consolidate these funds into larger pools. The biggest UK pension funds like Railpen, Nest and LGPS already invest in alternatives and nine...

October 31, 2023
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30Oct

Huge ethnicity pension gap revealed in UK figures

A UK individual from a minority ethnic background typically has a pension pot less than half the size of that belonging to the average white British saver, data reveal. The research from Legal & General’s investment arm claimed there was a sizeable “ethnicity pensions gap” in the UK that was being fuelled by “misconceptions” around pensions and a “significant distrust of employers”, as well as a lack of spare income. The average saver from a minority ethnic background has a pension pot of...

October 30, 2023
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27Oct

UK. New charter calls on political parties for pension reform

The Building a Consensus for Better Pensions charter unifies voices from across the pension industry in calling on major political parties for reform. Organisations from across the pension industry signed a new charter last week calling for reform to the pension savings system. The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Age UK were among signatories calling on major UK political parties to prioritise pension reform in their manifestos ahead of the next General Election. “It’s almost 20...

October 27, 2023
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26Oct

Britain tells pension funds change needed to improve returns

Britain will not force pension funds to consolidate or invest in high-growth companies, but there must be change in the sector to give pension holders better long-term returns, finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday. Hunt launched the "Mansion House Compact" in July to help channel cash from direct contribution pension funds into unlisted companies to boost Britain's economic growth. The government wants to persuade pension schemes to invest some of their funds in infrastructure as well as startups and green technology. Ten companies...

October 26, 2023
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25Oct

MPs pension scheme abandons UK stocks

MP retirement savings have been pulled out of British companies – despite the Chancellor pushing pension schemes to invest tens of billions in UK business. Jeremy Hunt has called on pension funds to plough at least 5pc of their assets into British start-ups and private equity in a bid to boost growth. However, his own Parliamentary pension scheme now invests just 1.7pc (£14m) in British companies, down from nearly 12pc the year before. When Mr Hunt first announced the policy at his...

October 25, 2023
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23Oct

UK. Billions in local government pensions invested in fossil fuels – analysis

Billions in local government pensions have been invested in the fossil fuels industry, according to new analysis. Environmental campaign groups Friends of the Earth and Platform London analysed data gathered through Freedom of Information requests. The groups said they were able to analyse data covering 75% of the assets under management for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) – one of the largest schemes in the country – for the financial year 2021/2022. They found at least £12.2 billion invested in fossil...

October 23, 2023
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20Oct

UK. Government urged not to direct pension fund investment policy

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has told the government that it should not direct the investment of defined benefit (DB) pension funds and should instead allow trustees to invest in assets that meet a scheme's risk-return characteristics and offer appropriate diversification. In a policy paper unveiled at PLSA’s Annual Conference 2023, the body called on the government and regulators to give DB schemes the freedom to take on more investment risk so that they can invest in assets...

October 20, 2023
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17Oct

Majority of employees back proposed reforms to UK pension system

The majority (88 per cent) of employees back the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s (PLSA) proposed reforms to the UK pensions system, research by the association has found. In particular, the research found that more than half (53 per cent) of employees agree that contribution levels should rise gradually over the next decade from 8 per cent to 12 per cent, while 21 per cent of respondents were unsure. In addition to this, nearly half (46 per cent) agreed that employers...

October 17, 2023
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16Oct

Twenty arrested in Hong Kong over false document pension withdrawals amid row over UK passport

 Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency said on Friday 20 people had been arrested suspected of taking bribes to help people apply for early withdrawal of government pension funds with false documents, amid a row over new passports offered by Britain. Hong Kong pension funds have been in the spotlight since the emigration of more than 140,000 Hong Kong people to Britain after 2020 when China imposed a national security law on the former British colony, cracking down on dissent. Many of these...

October 16, 2023
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