May 2022
11May

UK. Queen’s Speech measures spark protests

There was no mention of automatic enrolment reform in the Queen’s Speech, but bills around local boycotts, online safety and a revamped audit and reporting framework will all impact the industry, experts have said. Campaigners have promised to take to the streets to protest a bill aimed at tackling local boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns by public bodies including the Local Government Pension Scheme. Meanwhile, pensions minister Guy Opperman has promised that a consultation into a new value for money framework...

May 11, 2022
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10May

US. The Impact Of Government Retirement Requirements On Small-Business Owners

Retirement funds in America accumulate mainly through employer-sponsored plans including 401(k) accounts. As of 2021, 68% of private industry workers had access to this type of plan. However, while an exact number is not known, in 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that only 41% of those with access to a 401(k) contributed to it. As a response to this issue, a number of states have passed retirement mandates requiring businesses to offer their employees a retirement savings plan. While...

May 10, 2022
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10May

UK. FCA needs more crypto experience, expert warns

The FCA needs more experience with crypto in order to understand the asset class fully, an expert has warned. Mark Aruliah, senior policy adviser at blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, who spent a number of years as a technical specialist at the FCA, said he doesn’t see any strong advantages in being in the UK as a crypto firm. “I’m not saying the UK regulator is in a positive or negative position, I think the jury is out for me,” he said. Speaking...

May 10, 2022
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09May

Half of older women fear having to work beyond UK state pension age – study

Half of older women fear they will have to keep working beyond the state pension age in order to make ends meet, according to research. As many as 53% of women aged 45 and over surveyed by the older worker advice website Workingwise.co.uk said they were concerned that their pension would not be enough for them to be financially independent in later life. The study, carried out to investigate women’s economic situation as they approach retirement, exposes the lasting impact that...

May 9, 2022
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UK, Risk, Pension management
09May

Windfall tax on oil giants won’t hurt British pensioners, thinktank finds

Britain’s main pension funds own less than 0.2% of Shell and BP shares, undermining claims that a windfall tax on big oil companies would harm the retirement incomes of UK savers. A review of the oil giants’ shares by the Common Wealth thinktank shows the largest holdings are by US investment companies, including BlackRock and Vanguard, and the wealthy Norwegian pension funds. The UK’s multibillion-pound defined contribution occupational pension funds, which hold the savings of tens of millions of workers,...

May 9, 2022
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05May

UK. Pasa sets out good practice for DB transfers

The Pensions Administration Standards Association has published good practice guidance for those dealing with defined benefit transfers. At its annual conference in London yesterday (May 3), Pasa explained that the time taken to process DB transfers varies hugely, and sometimes, unexplained delays damage the relationship members have with their scheme, and pensions in general, which can lead to a breakdown of trust. Some transfers can often take months to execute, while others are processed within a month but administration delays can...

May 5, 2022
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04May

UK. DB schemes with DC AVCs will need to comply with ‘stronger nudge’ regs

Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes with a defined contribution (DC) additional voluntary contribution (AVC) facility will need to comply with the government’s ‘stronger nudge’ regulations that are coming into force from 1 June. LCP noted that as the new rules apply at the benefit level rather than at scheme level, occupational schemes that are mainly DB but have DC AVCs will also be impacted. The stronger nudge to pension guidance will require pension schemes to offer to book a Pension Wise...

May 4, 2022
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03May

UK. Less than third of schemes regularly track individual fund performance

Just 30 per cent of pension schemes regularly monitor individual fund performance as experienced by members, according to new research. Defined contribution schemes must start targeting retirement outcomes over outperforming indices, Aon said in response to its survey of 109 UK DC schemes. In contrast, 90 per cent of schemes are using an index-based perspective for monitoring performance against market indices and benchmarks. Even fewer schemes — 15 per cent of respondents — monitored performance in the context of how it delivered...

May 3, 2022
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Divorcees often don’t understand pension implications – survey
02May

UK. Divorcees often don’t understand pension implications – survey

No-fault divorce in England and Wales may lead to increase in separations – and financial problems One in six divorced people said they did not realise their pension could be affected by splitting up, a survey has found. More than a third said they made no claim on their former partner’s pension, according to the survey of more than 1,000 divorced people. The research, carried out for Aviva, found 8% of divorcees do not have their own pension savings – and had...

May 2, 2022
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April 2022
29Apr

UK. Pension schemes remain uninsured for cyber risks

Nearly half of UK pension schemes still do not have insurance against cyber attacks, and a similar proportion are lacking the specialist skills needed to deal with the threat. That is according to a new report from risk advisory firm Crowe, which surveyed pension scheme trustees on the challenges facing them as fraud and cybercrime levels rise. Worryingly, 43% of respondents said that they had not tested the strength of their scheme's IT systems, processes and procedures for cybercrime protection, while...

April 29, 2022
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