February 2022
02Feb

EU ropes in pension funds to boost post-Brexit clearing capacity

Mandatory clearing of derivatives contracts by pension funds in the European Union should start in June 2023, helping the bloc to cut reliance on London, the EU’s securities watchdog said on Tuesday. Brussels wants to reduce reliance of EU financial services companies, including pension funds, on clearing euro denominated derivatives in London after Britain left the bloc’s regulatory framework. The mandatory clearing by the pensions funds could help to build up EU capacity in derivatives clearing. London still dominates clearing, with...

February 2, 2022
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December 2021
09Dec

Brexit would be better for UK workers, Boris Johnson promised. But will it?

The European Commission’s plans to protect people in precarious jobs in the gig economy could be the most ambitious extension of workers’ rights from Brussels since Britain left the EU. If adopted, the plans would mean that gig economy companies, such as Uber and Deliveroo, would have to treat workers as employees with minimum wages (where they exist), sick pay, holidays and better accident insurance, unless they could prove that drivers and couriers were genuinely self-employed. Workers would also get greater...

December 9, 2021
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August 2021
10Aug

Brexit: Thousands of EU citizens face losing benefits

THOUSANDS of EU citizens living in the UK are set to lose their benefits next month if they haven’t applied for settled status. Campaigners have warned that the UK Government's decision to cut off European nationals could push vulnerable people into destitution. There are fears that many are still unaware that they need to apply for settled status after Brexit. The Independent reports that around 70,000 European nationals who receive benefits had not yet applied to the settlement scheme by the June...

August 10, 2021
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January 2021

13Jan

European regulators issue Brexit relief for UK pension funds

Four sources say European Union national regulators are allowing banks to continue exempting over-the-counter derivative trades with UK pension funds from mandatory clearing requirements, despite UK funds technically losing the exemption on December 31. “I believe various European banks have had regulatory clearance from their respective regulators to continue trading under this [exemption],” says a senior trader at a UK pension fund. Read more @Risk

January 13, 2021
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05Jan

UK. FTSE 350 DB pension deficit almost doubles in 2020 amid Covid and Brexit

The accounting deficit of FTSE 350 companies’ defined benefit (DB) pension schemes nearly doubled last year, increasing from £40bn at the end of 2019 to £70bn at the end of 2020, according to Mercer. The provider's Pension Risk Survey data showed that liability values had risen by £99bn over the past year, increasing from £815bn at 31 December 2019 to £914bn at the end of December 2020, which it attributed to falls in corporate bond yields. This was partially offset as...

January 5, 2021
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December 2020

30Dec

UK. How will Brexit impact pensions and investments?

Some 51% of people with pensions and/or investments are worried about how their savings are performing, according to a recent Which? survey. So should the new trade deal between the EU and UK be a cause for concern? Which? surveyed 2,112 UK adults in September and found that of the 1,645 people with pensions and/or investments, 19% were ‘very worried’ and 32% were ‘fairly worried’ about their performance. The FTSE 100 has surged on news of a Brexit deal since...

December 30, 2020
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July 2020

27Jul

Will post-Brexit pensions be driven by purpose or profit?

Is the City facing into a more purposeful future driven by greater transition to sustainable incomes for its populous, or a new panacea of deregulation to compete globally? Read also: UK pension scheme NEST tightens climate change policy. Direction needs momentum, which is contingent on politics and trade deals. Indeed, many hope the UK might emerge as a fiduciary leader; yet the certainty of whether the UK deregulates or gold-plates in a post-lockdown-post-Brexit world is capricious. For example, the key...

July 27, 2020
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January 2020

31Jan

UK. Brexit and pensions: everything you need to know

etirement savers will have to keep an eye on state pension payouts, the value of the pound and consumer protections now Brexit Day is here. The question on most people’s minds will be what it all means for them and their money. Read also UK’s ethnic minority pensioners are GBP3,350 a year worse off Pensions will be affected in a number of ways and, like all things when it comes to retirement, it will pay to be prepared. This is...

January 31, 2020
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14Jan

US. The Secure Act is exposing the ugly truth about people’s hatred of paying taxes

We want a society where we have safe roads, low crime, good public schools and, for times when people fall short financially, a safety net. Our taxes support Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which we know have kept millions of seniors out of poverty. Fifty-seven percent of retirees say Social Security is their major source of income, according to a 2019 Gallup poll. But the ugly truth about taxes is that many people hate giving up income to provide...

January 14, 2020
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13Jan

UK. Thousands of savers failing to report pension tax breaches

Thousands of savers are failing to report annual allowance breaches on their tax returns which leaves them at risk of missing out on tax relief or facing high tax bills, according to Royal London. Last year HM Revenue & Customs said it was aware some people had not reported breaching the annual allowance, which is currently £40,000. It warned that people who have used scheme pays, whereby their pension scheme pays the tax charge from their pension, must still...

January 13, 2020
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