June 2024
14Jun

UK. Labour manifesto confirms key pension priorities

The Labour Party has shared its 2024 manifesto, confirming plans to conduct a pensions review if elected, to consider what further steps are needed to improve security in retirement, and increase productive investment in the UK economy. In its manifesto, Labour said that it will act to increase investment from pension funds in UK markets, by adopting reforms to ensure that workplace pension schemes take advantage of consolidation and scale, and to deliver better returns for UK savers and greater...

June 14, 2024
News, , ,
Read more...
13Jun

UK. Auto-enrolment ambitions must go above and beyond just pensions

If I were to point to the most sensible decision made in pensions policy in the last 20 years, the introduction of auto-enrolment (AE) in 2012 would no doubt top the list. In one swoop, the mandatory law made saving for retirement the norm and improved the chances of maintaining a decent standard of living in later life for millions of employees. Of course, AE was never supposed to be the last word. It was meant to be the beginning of...

June 13, 2024
News, , ,
Read more...
12Jun

UK. WASPI women promised they’ll receive ‘apology and proper compensation’

WASPI women have received a compensation pledge ahead of July's General Election. Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) campaigners have called for WASPI women to receive payouts after the Ombudsman's damning report earlier this year. In its election manifesto, the Liberal Democrats has stated: "The women affected by changes to their state pension age should receive an apology from the government and should be given proper compensation." Director of public affairs Becky O'Connor welcomed the measures to widen pension participation to gig economy...

June 12, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
11Jun

UK. Labour drops plan to reintroduce pension saving cap

Labour has dropped a plan to reintroduce a cap on how much people are allowed to save into their pensions before paying tax. Under the pensions lifetime allowance, pension pots over £1.07m faced an annual tax of £40,000 on average. The cap was scrapped in April but Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves had vowed to bring it back, saying it could raise £800m a year. However, her party has now reversed the decision ahead of the release of its manifesto on Thursday, reportedly...

June 11, 2024
News,
Read more...
10Jun

UK. DWP issues bank checks warning to pensioners following huge rise in fraud

The Department for Work and Pensions has stated it is reviewing thousands of pensioners' bank statements following a significant increase in fraud. Overpayments of Pension Credit, a supplement for older people with a low income, surged to £520 million in the fiscal year ending April 2024, a substantial rise from the £330 million the previous year. These overpayments incorporate £210 million worth of fraud, considerably more than last year's figure of £120 million. Both rises were highlighted as "statistically significant",...

June 10, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
07Jun

Investigation into the Pensions Dashboards Programme

By National Audit Office Pensions dashboards are intended to allow people to view information about their pensions – including their State Pension – online, securely and in one place. The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) expects that pensions dashboards will deliver significant benefits by supporting people to plan better for retirement, make more informed financial decisions and connect with ‘lost’ pension pots. Get the report here

June 7, 2024
Books, Books, Reports, System Characterization, , ,
Read more...
07Jun

UK Pension Attention campaign refreshes comms support

The ABI and PLSA have selected Third City to oversee the ‘Pay Your Pension Some Attention’ campaign, after a competitive four-way pitch. The agency will be responsible for “injecting a fresh approach” into the annual campaign and driving greater engagement with pensions among the UK public. Backed by prominent pensions industry brands, the work will run from September to November this year. The ABI and PLSA have worked with financial PR agency Teamspirit for the past two years on the initiative. In 2022,...

June 7, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
06Jun

UK. Pension pot of £1.3m needed for comfortable early retirement

A pension pot of £1.3m is now required to fund a comfortable early retirement at 55-years-old, analysis from Interactive Investor has revealed. The findings come as industry rumours suggest a possible return of the pension lifetime allowance, which was formerly £1,073,100, ahead of the general election. New calculations by the investment platform found that for a comfortable retirement at 55-years-old, £1.3m is required with 2 per cent inflation factored in, if they retire in 2024. This is an extra £495,000 compared...

June 6, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
03Jun

The grass isn’t greener for U.K employees as majority prefer to stay in their current jobs

Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, and global political unrest, UK employees are turning to their employers for a sense of security. A comprehensive survey by leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, WTW, found a majority (54%) of employees are choosing to stay with their employers, ending a period of intense job turnover and attraction and retention challenges for employers. This is a significant change from 2022 when only 45% of employees were committed to staying with their employers. Moreover, only...

June 3, 2024
News,
Read more...

May 2024
31May

Half of UK adults unaware of state pension age

Nearly half (48 per cent) of UK adults under state pension age do not know when they will receive the state pension. Research by AJ Bell found that 63 per cent of those aged 18-34 did not know when they would receive the state pension, with 54 per cent of 35-49-year-olds also being unaware. Some 28 per cent of those aged 50-64 also admitted not knowing the state pension age. The research also revealed that 72 per cent of UK adults expect their pension...

May 31, 2024
News, ,
Read more...