July 2022
22Jul

The Effects of Myopia on Retirement Savings Decisions

By Justin van de Ven Recent pensions policy debate in the United Kingdom has emphasised the role of behavioural myopia in justifying state involvement in retirement provisions (e.g. Pensions Commission, 2005, pp. 68-69, and op.cit.). In this regard, it appears that the public debate has gotten slightly ahead of the economic literature, as there currently exist very few studies that consider the empirical support for myopia on field data, or the practical implications of myopia for behavioural responses to policy...

July 22, 2022
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20Jul

UK. Cross-industry Pension Attention campaign unveiled

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) have unveiled the 'Pension Attention' campaign slogan and logo, ahead of the campaign launch in September. Plans for the campaign were initially announced in April 2022, with over 30 million pension savers to be targeted in an effort to boost people's understanding of and engagement with their pensions. It has received "unprecedented" cross industry support from 17 providers, including 13 sponsors and four official supporters, with those...

July 20, 2022
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19Jul

UK. MPs back tax return solution for self-employed retirement savings

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Resilience has thrown its weight behind using the tax system to help the self-employed save for retirement. In a report analysing general financial resilience during the coronavirus pandemic, launched on July 18, the group called for the government to “co-ordinate an approach to improving pension saving in under-pensioned groups”. “This should involve an equivalent of automatically enrolling the self-employed into saving through the tax system,” it said. The APPG also called for an increase in take-up...

July 19, 2022
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18Jul

UK. Pair of ‘advisers’ jailed over £20mn pension fraud

Two “advisers” who convinced hundreds of pension holders to transfer their pots into self-invested personal pensions, and then unknowingly put them into risky investments as part of a £20mn fraud, have been jailed. Mark Kelly and Rikki Nicholls were each sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud and money laundering at Southwark Crown Court on July 15. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, both men devised a plan to persuade pension holders, predominantly Equitable Life customers, to transfer their...

July 18, 2022
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15Jul

UK. Minister calls on pension schemes to get “data ready” for dashboards

The calls come as the government publishes its response to a consultation which gathered feedback from industry, potential providers, consumer groups and future users on what data should be included and how this should be displayed to people. Bringing pensions into the digital age, dashboards will allow savers to see what they have in their various pensions – including their State Pension – in a single place online, at any time they choose. Ten years since the introduction of Automatic Enrolment...

July 15, 2022
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14Jul

US. Private equity allocation helps public pension plans

U.S. public pension plans had 11% of their assets invested in private equity, and 89% had some amount allocated to the asset class, according to the American Investment Council's 2022 Public Pension Study. Public equity and fixed income, combining for 68%, had the largest share. The median 10-year annualized private equity return among public pension funds that the AIC examined was 15.1%. This return was better than other major asset classes, such as public equities' 11.8%. However, recent performance has slipped....

July 14, 2022
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14Jul

UK. Cost of living puts pension freedoms gains in jeopardy

Inflation worries and the fear of running out of money are putting the gains from pension freedoms at risk. A report from independent actuaries AKG found that while advisers believe there has been an evolution in how people save for retirement since pension freedoms came into force in 2015, the current crisis is putting progress in this area under strain. Published in partnership with Abrdn and Scottish Widows, the report included a survey of 2,000 consumers and 100 advisers, along with...

July 14, 2022
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13Jul

UK pensions insurance deals to rise more than 25% in 2022-adviser

Britain is likely to see around 35 billion pounds ($41.62 billion) in pensions buy-in and buy-out deals in 2022, up more than 25% from 2021, consultants Hymans Robertson said on Wednesday. Such deals involve offloading the risk of company defined benefit, or final salary, pension schemes to an insurer. Pensions' funding positions have improved following government and central bank stimulus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making such deals cheaper for some companies, industry specialists say. The deals remove balance sheet risk for...

July 13, 2022
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12Jul

UK. FCA appoints new chair

Ashley Alder has been announced by HM Treasury as the new chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is expected to take up the role in January 2023, taking over from Richard Lloyd who has served as interim chair since May 2022. Alder is currently chief executive officer of the Securities and Future Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong, a role he has held since 2011, and also chairs the board of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and...

July 12, 2022
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11Jul

UK. Guy Opperman reappointed pensions minister

Guy Opperman has agreed to return to his pensions minister post until a new leader of the Conservative party is elected. Opperman announced his reappointment as parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Work and Pensions on Twitter on July 8, a day after resigning from his post when he said the government could no longer function and asked prime minister Boris Johnson to step down from office. “[I] have agreed to help DWP navigate the next few weeks,...

July 11, 2022
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