UK Archives - Page 69 of 188 - Pension Policy International

20JulJuly 20, 2023

UK’s Workplace Pension Provider, Smart Pension, Acquires Evolve Pensions

Smart Pension, which claims to be one of the UK’s leading workplace pension providers, announces its acquisition of Evolve Pensions, a provider in workplace pension services through its master trust the Crystal Trust. The acquisition will aim to “improve experience and provide efficiencies for the Crystal Trust’s employers and members, enabled by Keystone, the cloud-based global technology platform developed by Smart Pension’s parent company, the Smart group.” The Crystal Trust currently “has over 128,000 members and £750m in assets.” This is reportedly...

July 20, 2023

NewsPension Management, UK

14JulJuly 14, 2023

UK. Pension Protection Fund returns 1.9% on growth assets for year

The Pension Protection Fund, London, achieved a 1.9% investment return on its growth assets and saw its funding ratio increase to 156% for the year ended March 31, despite a challenging year in markets. The investment return was 7.6% and the funding ratio was 137.9% for the year ended March 31, 2022. Reserves — held to ensure the lifeboat fund for the defined benefit plans of insolvent U.K. companies can absorb future claims and pay compensation should participants live longer than...

July 14, 2023

NewsPension Management, UK

12JulJuly 12, 2023

Britain’s £50 billion pensions gamble provides ‘no guarantees’ for savers

Britain’s financial services industry has broadly cheered fresh government proposals to jump-start the economy by channelling £50 billion (US$64.5 billion) of pension fund cash into fledgling firms, but the plans could backfire on savers, experts said. Finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Monday unveiled a raft of reforms aimed at redirecting a greater proportion of a £4.6 trillion pool of capital managed by Britain’s pensions and insurance sectors into unloved UK assets by 2030. The so-called Mansion House Reforms follow years of...

July 12, 2023

NewsInvestment, Regulation, UK

10JulJuly 10, 2023

UK. Pension companies to announce 5% commitment to growth assets

The move comes ahead of chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Mansion House speech tonight (10 July) which is due to set out a series of reforms intended to channel tens of billions of pounds of Britain's pensions savings into high-growth companies. The Financial Times said the chancellor would note voluntary move by some of the UK's biggest pension providers - firms it says include Aviva, Legal & General, Phoenix and Scottish Widows. It added two-thirds of the defined contribution (DC) pensions market...

July 10, 2023

NewsInvestment, UK

05JulJuly 5, 2023

It’s time to address the UK’s disability pensions gap

Building a healthy retirement savings pot can be a challenge for anyone as they advance through their working lives. Yet, without question, it poses many additional, arduous challenges for those with disabilities. To put this into perspective, one fifth (22%) of UK adults are currently living with a disability. And people within that community have, on average, a pension wealth that is but a fraction (36%) of the typical UK pension pot. In practice, that means Britons with disabilities nearing retirement...

July 5, 2023

NewsEquality, Pension design, UK

04JulJuly 4, 2023

UK. PPF Chair commits to new strategy to expand sustainability

New strategy outlines four sustainability goals across Responsible Investment, Diversity & Inclusion, community impact, and operations and supply chains. Targets include: Having achieved Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 for its direct operations, the Fund will aim to reach Net Zero in its operational supply chain and travel emissions by 2035 or sooner. Contributing to the global transition to Net Zero through its investment portfolio and engagement activities. Year-on-year, achieving an increase in representation across all under-represented groups. Ensuring that at least 500...

July 4, 2023

NewsESG, Sustainability, UK

03JulJuly 3, 2023

UK. ‘It’s exhausting but I think I’m going to have to keep working’: the over-65s who can’t afford to retire

Dee, 67, who lives in Accrington in Lancashire, left school at 14. She worked in factories, hairdressing shops and bars, and did secretarial temp work all over the country before she took a job at HM Revenue and Customs, where she worked full-time for 23 years. Last year, in May, she began her retirement, but after only a few weeks she realised that she could not afford it because of the rising cost of living. “I had two months off,...

July 3, 2023

NewsAdequacy, Retirement Age, UK

30JunJune 30, 2023

UK. Half of DC pension savers don’t know how to access retirement pot

Almost half of defined contribution (DC) pension savers in their 50s and 60s have not considered how they will access their retirement pot, a study finds. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) research published today (30 June) finds that close to half of working-age people have at least a small amount of wealth held in DC pensions. Wealthier people are more likely to have DC pension wealth — 60% of individuals in the top tenth of the (non-pension) wealth distribution have...

June 30, 2023

NewsFinancial Literacy, savings, UK

29JunJune 29, 2023

UK pension funds still holding £88bn in fossil fuels, despite increased climate commitments

UK-based pension schemes have more than £88bn invested in fossil fuel firms, the equivalent of £3,000 per pension policyholder. That is according to Make My Money Matter, which has analysed the fossil fuel investments of more than 50 of the nation’s largest pension schemes. Most of these schemes have net-zero targets but are yet to completely stop investing in fossil fuels. While some fossil fuels are likely to be used in a net-zero world, Net-Zero Tracker recently confirmed that no major...

June 29, 2023

NewsClimate crisis, ESG, Investment, UK

27JunJune 27, 2023

UK. State pension could jump by 18% in two year window

State pensions could rise by 7% to £11,342 in 2024, paving the way for close to an 18% jump in two years, according to Bank of England inflation forecasts. Under the triple lock scheme, state pensions are required to increase annually at the same rate of whichever is highest out of the inflation rate in September, earnings between May and June or 2.5%. Predictions made by the Bank of England show inflation dropping from 8.7% to 7% in September, the month...

June 27, 2023

NewsInflation, State Pensions, UK

July 2023

UK’s Workplace Pension Provider, Smart Pension, Acquires Evolve Pensions

UK. Pension Protection Fund returns 1.9% on growth assets for year

Britain’s £50 billion pensions gamble provides ‘no guarantees’ for savers

UK. Pension companies to announce 5% commitment to growth assets

It’s time to address the UK’s disability pensions gap

UK. PPF Chair commits to new strategy to expand sustainability

UK. ‘It’s exhausting but I think I’m going to have to keep working’: the over-65s who can’t afford to retire

June 2023

UK. Half of DC pension savers don’t know how to access retirement pot

UK pension funds still holding £88bn in fossil fuels, despite increased climate commitments

UK. State pension could jump by 18% in two year window