April 2023
17Apr

UK. PLSA sets out key issues for defined contribution reform

In the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s (PLSA) regular column for Professional Pensions, the trade body’s director of policy and advocacy takes a look at defined contribution (DC) reform. It is hugely positive that pensions minister Laura Trott has wasted no time in setting out her vision for DC pensions. Her recent support for the Gullis Bill on reform of auto-enrolment to increase the amount of saving into workplace pensions is an important step towards achieving pensions adequacy and has a...

April 17, 2023
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17Apr

UK. Should pensions tax relief be used to fund care costs?

Getting more people into work and keeping them there for longer was a thread that ran throughout last month’s Spring Budget. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt focused on childcare, state benefit reform and elements of the pensions tax relief system, such as the abolition of the lifetime allowance (LTA). But there was nothing more to add on the funding of social care. Last year’s Autumn Statement, which confirmed the proposed £86,000 cap on social care costs in England would be delayed by...

April 17, 2023
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14Apr

PensionBee. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2022

By PensionBee PensionBee is a leading online pension provider in the UK, with a mission to make pensions simple, so that everyone can look forward to a happy retirement. We are a direct-to-consumer financial technology company with approximately 183,000 Invested Customers and £3.0bn of Assets under Administration (‘AUA’) as at 31 December 2022 (2021: 117,000 Invested Customers and  £2.6bn of AUA). We deliver a leading customer proposition to pension holders in the UK defined contribution pensions market, catering for the mass...

April 14, 2023
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14Apr

UK. TPR authorises first CDC pension scheme

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has authorised the UK’s first collective defined contribution (CDC) pension scheme. CDC schemes provide an alternative to traditional defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension schemes and see member and employer contributions pooled in a collective fund from which an aspired to pension income for life is drawn. The pooling of longevity and investment risks makes CDC schemes more resilient to market shocks. Yesterday (April 13), the regulator published a list of authorised CDC schemes on its...

April 14, 2023
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13Apr

UK. Government body calls on London pension fund to divest fossil fuel holdings

Transport for London Pension Fund, London, should divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies and develop an annual report on performance against net-zero targets, according to calls by a London governmental body. The Greater London Authority committee, which oversees the London Pensions Fund Authority and TfL Pension Fund, launched an investigation as part of a review into its pension funds' investments and costs. The pension funds had about £22 billion ($27.1 billion) in combined assets as of March 31, 2022. In...

April 13, 2023
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12Apr

U.K. pension funds see surplus drop as liabilities grow

The aggregate surplus of U.K. defined benefit funds covered by the PPF 7800 index declined 5.8% in March to £359.3 billion ($443.8 billion), as liabilities increased due to lower government bond yields. The surplus almost doubled for the year ended March 31, from £193 billion, according to a Tuesday update by the Pension Protection Fund, London. The PPF is the lifeboat fund for pension funds of insolvent U.K. companies. The aggregate funding ratio was 133.2% as of March 31, compared with...

April 12, 2023
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10Apr

UK. £1 million in savings are needed for a comfortable early retirement, experts say”

Savers hoping to retire early with a “comfortable” income will need a pension worth £1m – and to save more than £11,000 a year throughout their career to build up the pot. Early retirement is currently in vogue, with 565,000 workers having left the workforce since the start of the pandemic, according to the House of Lords. While the reasons behind the exodus are unknown, the primary driver is thought to be early retirement among those aged between 50 and...

April 10, 2023
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04Apr

U.K. extends pensions funds’ clearing obligation exemption for 2 more years

His Majesty's Treasury said it will exempt U.K. pension funds from the clearing obligation for an additional two years. Under the European Union's European Markets Infrastructure Regulation pension funds in Europe have until June 18 before they are obligated to clear derivatives. Under the rules of EMIR, all counterparties trading in the European Union are required to post cash, rather than bonds, as the collateral to clear derivatives' exposures. This could mean they have to liquidate otherwise long-term fixed-income investments if...

April 4, 2023
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03Apr

UK. DB pensions show resilience despite market turbulence

The PwC Buyout Index recorded a surplus of £120bn in March, with the drop in gilt yields driving a reduction of £40bn on the previous month. Meanwhile, the Low Reliance Index also continues to show a sizable surplus of £290bn. This index assumes schemes invest in low-risk, income-generating assets like bonds, meaning they are unlikely to call on the sponsor for further funding. The resilience of pension schemes to short term market shocks is something the Pensions Regulator (TPR) highlighted...

April 3, 2023
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March 2023
31Mar

The cost of living

We first took evidence on the cost of living crisis in February 2022, when inflation was forecast to peak at 7.25% in April 2022. Since then, we have seen the invasion of Ukraine compound the difficult economic picture and inflationary pressure seen internationally and domestically after the COVID-19 pandemic, and inflation now looks set to top 11% in October—the highest in 40 years. However, the context for the cost of living crisis and its impact on the poorest in...

March 31, 2023
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