May 2020
15May

How the UK pensions industry is paving the way for open data sharing ecosystems

As consumer expectations around digital services increase, businesses across every sector are looking to meet a growing demand for better, and more user-friendly, applications of data. The Covid-19 pandemic has only accelerated this shift to digital as traditionally offline activities move online, and businesses are racing to stay ahead of both their customers and their competitors. The UK pensions industry might not seem an obvious place to look for inspiration about how to adapt to digital transformation, but that...

May 15, 2020
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14May

UK. Govt told to scrap pensions triple lock to reduce virus debt

The pensions triple lock could be scrapped in the near future as the government looks to recoup the hundreds of billions of pounds it has spent on Covid-19 support. According to a Treasury document dated May 5, seen by the Telegraph, chancellor Rishi Sunak has been advised to break one of the Conservatives’ manifesto pledges and scrap the pension triple lock on state pension rises. Under current rules, the state pension is increased by the triple lock which is...

May 14, 2020
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13May

UK. Women in lower-grade jobs hit by pension change ‘at greater risk of depression’

Women in lower-grade occupations forced to work up to six years longer because of changes to the state pension age are a third more likely to suffer debilitating, potentially permanent, depression, research has found. The changes to the state pension age (SPA) have also resulted in a widening gap in health between women from different occupations, according to a paper by academics at King’s College London. “Our research is important because we know that worsening mental health will lead...

May 13, 2020
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13May

Some insights from the ‘United Kingdom 2020: Workplace Pensions Consumer Study’

The "Workplace Pensions Consumer Research Report 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. 55% of all consumers have a workplace pension Over half of all consumers have a workplace pension and among consumers with workplace pensions, most (51%) have a defined contribution (DC) pension with just over four-in-ten owning a final/career average pension. 85% of adults with a workplace pension have a pension with their current employer, with 15% having legacy pensions from previous employers. This report is...

May 13, 2020
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08May

The DB landscape Defined benefit pensions 2019

By The Pensions Regulator Welcome to the fourth edition of the DB landscape publication, TPR’s annual reporton the defned beneft (DB) pension schemes that we regulate. We have taken this information from the pension schemes register on 31 March 2019 and included DB an hybrid occupational schemes with more than one member. Our publication differs from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF)’s Purple Book as their data includes only those DB scheme, eligible for the lifeboat fund. We present the...

May 8, 2020
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06May

UK Corporate Pension Funding Hammered by Pandemic in April

The accounting position of the defined benefit pension plans of the UK’s FTSE 350 companies plummeted in April as it swung from a surplus of £10 billion ($12.4 billion) at the end of March to a deficit of £52 billion at the end of the April due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from consulting firm Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey shows that liabilities of the UK’s 350 largest listed companies surged by £102 billion to £897 billion at...

May 6, 2020
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06May

UK Corporate Pension Funding Hammered by Pandemic in April

The accounting position of the defined benefit pension plans of the UK’s FTSE 350 companies plummeted in April as it swung from a surplus of £10 billion ($12.4 billion) at the end of March to a deficit of £52 billion at the end of the April due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from consulting firm Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey shows that liabilities of the UK’s 350 largest listed companies surged by £102 billion to £897 billion...

May 6, 2020
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April 2020

29Apr

Swedish schemes apply for IORP conversion after rules battle

With two days to go before the deadline, the Swedish financial supervisory agency has now received applications from six of the country’s pension funds to convert to the new status of occupational pension company (tjänstepensionsföretag) under the new IORP II-based regulatory regime. The new act on occupational pension companies (2019:742), which puts the EU directive into Swedish law, was passed by the country’s parliament (Riksdag) in December following a long period of wrangling between stakeholders. The authority, Finansinspektionen (FI),...

April 29, 2020
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24Apr

UK government plans to grant phone-hacking powers to the Pensions Regulator (and others)

UK ministers want to extend the Investigatory Powers Act, better known as the Snooper’s Charter, even further, according to draft legislation that would gift phone-hacking and web-history combing capabilities to five new public bodies, in addition to the more than 50 that already have access to the sprawling surveillance powers. Read also UK. Coronavirus crisis hits occupational pension schemes The bodies poised to receive new comms-hacking powers are a motley crew consisting of the Pensions Regulator, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary...

April 24, 2020
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23Apr

UK. Coronavirus crisis hits occupational pension schemes

Members of generous final-salary workplace pension schemes could see their guaranteed benefits jeopardised by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many such schemes are in deficit: they lack the money to make good on all the pension promises made to employees . In the short term, the outlook has improved. The Pensions Regulator has now given employers longer to make up this shortfall since many firms are suffering from the pandemic. This will help employers squeezed by the virus. But...

April 23, 2020
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