December 2022
08Dec

The Underpensioned Index 2022 Edition

By The Pensions Policy Institute This report, the third in the series, provides an updated version of the Index, alongside recent data illustrating changes, particularly in the labour market and pension saving, that have been experienced by underpensioned groups since the first Index. Recognising that the current economic landscape is challenging, some of these changes may reflect current circumstances rather than long-term trends, and some of the policies that may be suggested as potential remedies to the underpensioned challenge may not be appropriate to enact during the...

December 8, 2022
Books, Books, Labor Market, , , , ,
Read more...
08Dec

BlackRock adding ESG policy to its flagship U.K. DC strategy

BlackRock is formally incorporating an ESG policy into its flagship defined contribution strategy in the U.K., the asset manager said in a news release Wednesday. The LifePath U.K. series of target-date funds launched in 1997 had £9.2 billion ($10 billion) in assets under management as of Sept. 30. It provides access to 11 asset classes through index funds. Adding the ESG policy "is a continuation and evolution of LifePath U.K.'s ESG journey, which began in 2019, and reflects scheme members' requirements...

December 8, 2022
News, ,
Read more...
07Dec

UK. More than 8.6mn missing out on workplace pension savings

More than 8.6mn people from “underpensioned” groups are missing out on workplace pension savings, according to a report by Now Pensions. The report, published on December 7 in collaboration with the Pensions Policy Institute, found a number of common factors within these groups that are causing barriers to saving, including non-traditional work patterns, a lower percentage of homeownership, and being impacted by inequalities in the labour market. People from underpensioned groups – including ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, carers and single...

December 7, 2022
News, , ,
Read more...
06Dec

Big Finance Has a Sustainability Problem. These Brands Have Solutions

The Co-Operative Bank and Make My Money Matter want to show consumers the power of their money The first question David Hayman asks new people he meets is if they know where their pension money is held. Most say they don’t. If you’re reading this in the U.K., you might be surprised to learn that yours is most likely invested in fossil fuels, tobacco or arms. In the U.S., just 14 public pension funds inject $82 billion each year into...

December 6, 2022
News, , ,
Read more...
05Dec

British government looks at pension rules to retain health workers

Britain's government is launching a consultation into how to amend pension rules for workers in the National Health Service to help retain more staff, at a time when the sector faces strikes over pay this month that could halt some procedures. The governing Conservative Party has long promised to sort out a health service which has struggled to recover after being stretched to its limits during the COVID-19 pandemic and now faces strikes by thousands of nurses and ambulance workers. "The...

December 5, 2022
News, ,
Read more...
02Dec

UK. FCA bans third-party dashboard consumer charges

The Financial Conduct Authority will prohibit third parties from charging customers for services linked to pension dashboards as part of its regulatory framework for the initiative. According to its new consultation - published on December 1, on the same day that the Pensions Dashboards Programme issued its own consultation into design standards - the FCA recognised that some dashboard providers will look to third-party agreements for areas including licensing or third-party hosting. Any agreement with a third party, however, must allow...

December 2, 2022
News, ,
Read more...

November 2022
30Nov

UK. Sustainability in pension scheme strategies improve but still room for improvement on disclosures, XPS Pensions Group analysis finds

The pensions consultancy reviewed climate disclosures of 12 large pension schemes with £320bn in assets under management, made in line with TCFD guidance These are the first round of such disclosures to be published after doing so was made mandatory for schemes with over £5bn, in October 2021. The review found that 11 of the 12 schemes reviewed have targets in place linked to Net Zero or Paris Agreement Alignment, with the majority of these committing to meet that standard...

November 30, 2022
News,
Read more...
29Nov

UK. FCA reveals £49m redress scheme for British Steel pensions

Financial advisers to pay about £45,000 a worker to 1,000 staff who received unsuitable advice More than 1,000 former members of the British Steel pension scheme who received unsuitable advice from financial advisers accused of “enriching” themselves will receive an average payout of £45,000 in compensation. The City watchdog on Monday launched plans for a scheme that seeks to compensate those who had not yet received redress after being given poor pension transfer advice when British Steel fell into financial hardship. The...

November 29, 2022
News,
Read more...
28Nov

U.K. Pension savers ‘lost £1.7 billion on retirement transition

New research from HSBC Tomorrow Master Trust shows workplace pension scheme members are losing around £1.7 billion a year during their transition into and in retirement, due to savers choosing costly pathways to access their money. While some of this loss comes from scheme members withdrawing more than the 25% tax-free lump sum, exposing them to hefty tax penalties, many are potentially buying products that are not the optimal solution for their circumstances. The research was commissioned for a report Converting...

November 28, 2022
News, , , ,
Read more...
25Nov

UK. MPs told ‘illegal’ LDIs fanned gilt crisis

The flames of the crisis in the gilt market following the Mini Budget were fanned by widely used liability driven investments (LDIs) that were “almost certainly illegal”, MPs were told yesterday. At a hearing in front of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, experts criticised LDIs for being highly leveraged, causing "carnage" for some pension schemes, and blamed regulators for not acting previously. Bond market veteran Dr Con Keating, now head of research at the specialist insurer Brighton Rock Group, said...

November 25, 2022
News, ,
Read more...