September 2022
05Sep

UK. What policies will Liz Truss pursue as Britain’s new prime minister?

Truss set out a series of proposals during Tory leadership contest, but what can and will she deliver in office? The policy focus of a Truss prime ministership will, inevitably, be largely a work in progress, given she is taking office amid a hugely turbulent economic period. But during a long leadership campaign the new PM has set out a series of proposals and plans for government: Taxation and cost of living Truss’s clear economic priority is to cut taxes, a move...

September 5, 2022
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05Sep

UK. Why the gig economy deserves better options for protection

For many people who consider going freelance or self-employed, added flexibility is usually the main driver. But other things you normally take for granted suddenly become more complicated, including the lack of a safety net from your employer if you happen to fall ill. The LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor found that 64 per cent of working UK adults were worried about losing income if they were unable to work. A central worry was how to pay the bills and...

September 5, 2022
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02Sep

US. Florida Retirement System returns -6.3% for fiscal year

Florida Retirement System, Tallahassee, returned a net -6.3% for the fiscal year ended June 30. The $180 billion pension fund's return exceeded the benchmark return of -9.1% for the period, according to a performance report on the website of the Florida State Board of Administration, which oversees the pension fund's investments. For the three, five and 10 years ended June 30, the pension fund returned an annualized net 7.7%, 7.7% and 8.6%, respectively, above the respective benchmarks of 5.7%, 6.2% and...

September 2, 2022
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01Sep

U.S. corporate pension buyouts hit record $12.3 billion in Q2 – LIMRA

U.S. corporate pension plan buyout sales totaled $12.31 billion in the quarter ended June 30, the highest volume for a second quarter ever recorded, a LIMRA survey found. The second-quarter total in buyout sales represented an increase of 148% from the year-over-year quarter, which saw a total of $4.97 billion in combined buyout and buy-in sales during the three months ended June 30, 2021. The exceptionally high volume in the second quarter of this year is especially significant since the vast...

September 1, 2022
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01Sep

UK. Pensions dashboards standards need ‘extensive user testing’

Respondents to the pensions dashboards standards consultation have warned that user testing and experience will be required before a full assessment can be provided. The Department for Work and Pensions intends for the dashboards’ legislative framework to come into force from April 2023. The Pensions Dashboards Programme’s consultation, launched on July 19, sought input from the pensions industry on areas including operational, security and design standards. The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and the Society of Pension Professionals were among respondents...

September 1, 2022
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August 2022
31Aug

UK. Pensions industry urged to join forces to address adequacy concerns

The pensions industry has been urged to work together to reach a consensus on how to deal with the issue of under saving, after a report from B&CE found that 61 per cent of households and nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of individuals aren’t saving enough for retirement. The analysis, based on data from the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey, found that 68 per cent of Generation X workers aren’t saving enough, rising to 76 per cent amongst Millenials,...

August 31, 2022
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30Aug

UK. Workers cut pension contributions amid cost of living crisis

Workers are leaving pension schemes or cutting their contributions, trade unions say, as the cost of living crisis prompts desperate measures that will reduce their retirement funds. The warning comes as UK inflation is predicted to hit 18.6 per cent, the highest rate among larger western economies, and as real wages fall at the fastest rate for at least two decades. The Trades Union Congress, the UK’s main movement for organised labour, said a growing number of its members in the...

August 30, 2022
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29Aug

UK. Andy Bell: Common sense failure risks good work on pension transfers

By  Andy Bell In December last year I wrote in Money Marketing that new regulations designed to protect savers from pension scams would only work properly if common sense was applied by schemes administering transfers. Sadly, in certain parts of the industry, it appears ‘common sense’ is an alien concept, and it looks increasingly likely the rules will need to be revisited to ensure legitimate transfers aren’t slowed to a crawl or blocked altogether. Pension transfer scams As a reminder, this saga started...

August 29, 2022
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26Aug

UK. Just 6% of pension transfers not flagged as scams

A staggering 94% of pension transfer cases reviewed by XPS Group’s Scam Protection Service were registered as having one or more scam warning signs in July 2022 – a small fall from 97% in June 2022. The firm said this is the second month in a row where the rate has been in excess of 90% of cases, with the overseas investment amber flag being the most common warning identified. However, pension transfer activity seems to be on the rise as...

August 26, 2022
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25Aug

UK. Cost-of-living crisis could slash pensions by quarter

The youngest UK workers could see their retirement savings cut by a quarter if they were to reduce their pension contributions by 2% in response to the cost-of-living crisis. That is according to new analysis by consultancy firm Broadstone, which found that 25-year-olds could lose up to £60,000 of their pension savings if a ‘temporary’ cutback in contributions becomes permanent. This is based on 2% reduction in employee contributions – taking total contributions down from 8% to 6%, assuming that 3%...

August 25, 2022
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