May 2021
25May

UK. Pension fee shake-up

Proposals include introducing a threshold of £100 or below which a person cannot be charged a flat fee by their pensions provider, helping limit the erosion of small pot pensions and protect savers. This will stop pensions worth £100 or less and invested in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment being gradually whittled away by the fees, a situation commonly faced by people who change jobs frequently or take up short-term contracts. Minister for Pensions, Guy Opperman said: We...

May 25, 2021
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24May

Ireland. Bringing order to a fragmented pensions landscape

The transposition into Irish law of the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) II directive at the end of April represented a game changing event for Irish pensions, says PwC pensions partner Munro O’Dwyer. Ireland has more than 100,000 pension schemes, the majority of them one-person arrangements, and the net effect of the new rules could be to reduce that number to less than 200. That rationalisation will be prompted by the increased regulatory obligations and costs imposed on pension schemes. IORP...

May 24, 2021
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20May

UK. TPR sets three priorities in its new corporate plan

The Pension Regulator (TPR) laid out three priorities for the next three years in its new corporate plan. Implementing the Pension Schemes Act, combating scams and developing a framework to measure value for money will be the objectives of TPR over the next three years. The regulator sees these three objectives as the continuation to its response to economic uncertainty following the Covid-19 pandemic. The plan also provide information to the industry about how TPR’s work will be measured. TPR has set itself...

May 20, 2021
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17May

Spain. Government And Social Agents Will Evaluate The Formula For Raising Pensions

The soap opera of the revaluation of pensions could close the chapter. The Government and the social partners will carry out, within the framework of social dialogue, a periodic evaluation every five years of the effects of the new formula for the revaluation of pensions with the CPI, to which the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations finally agreed. , José Luis Escrivá , for the maintenance of purchasing power. This is reflected in the draft agreement on pensions...

May 17, 2021
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13May

Turkey: The Regulation On The Private Pension System Has Been Amended

Amendments regarding the Regulation on the Private Pension System ("Regulation") were published in the Official Gazette No. 31476 dated 6 May 2021. With the changes introduced by the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency ("Agency"), new regulations have been created regarding the use of electronic means of communication, the maximum number of changes allowed in a fund distribution and the purchase and sale of pension investment funds via a central electronic platform. You can read the amendments...

May 13, 2021
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05May

UK. FCA proposes Pension Wise nudge for DC savers

In a consultation today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today proposed that providers will need to go further than the current signposting in a bid to improve take-up of the free guidance service. Consumers would see appointments made for them, if requested, although they will not be mandatory after MPs on several occasions voted against the idea, believing it could be seen as a tick-box exercise, as opposed to a beneficial part of the process. Upon deciding, in principle, how to...

May 5, 2021
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April 2021
22Apr

Australian regulator issues long-awaited climate risk guidance

Australia's prudential regulator unveiled long-awaited guidance for banks, insurers and pension funds on managing and disclosing climate-related risks, including physical, transition and liability exposures. Issuing a draft version for consultation, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said the guidance paper did not create new requirements or obligations, but gave more clarity about its expectations. The guide was developed in consultation with peer regulators globally and is aligned with the recommendations from the global Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), set...

April 22, 2021
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20Apr

UK. Industry tightens up on pension scams as losses hit £10bn

Pension schemes face tougher due diligence requirements on transfer requests as new figures show the amount lost to pension scams and fraud has hit £10 billion five years after the introduction of the pension freedoms. Regulators, courts and The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) have all made significant statements in recent months which cover both the fall-out from previous scams and the prevention of future scams. In its recent report, the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee called on the government...

April 20, 2021
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19Apr

Ireland. Government in bid to resolve pensions dispute in community employment sector

The Government is set to table new proposals to resolve a long -running dispute over access to pensions for hundreds of community employment scheme supervisors. Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath and Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys informed Government politicians that they had agreed on measures to deal with the issue. They told Government TDs and senators on Saturday that the Department of Social Protection would provide details to trade unions in the coming days. The proposal is expected to involve...

April 19, 2021
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15Apr

The Macro Challenges of Population Aging

A new paper jointly released today by The Concord Coalition and the Global Aging Institute (GAI) warns that the aging of the U.S. population not only threatens to overwhelm the budget, but could also usher in a future of permanently slower economic growth and diminished geopolitical stature. The paper, entitled The Macro Challenges of Population Aging, is the fifth in a series of issue briefs on the aging of America called The Shape of Things to Come. Read also Spain....

April 15, 2021
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