September 2023

Review of climate-related disclosures by occupational pension schemes

By The Pensions Regulator From 1 October 2021, new regulations came into effect for trustees of certain schemes aimed at improving governance and reporting of climate-related risks and opportunities. Reports under these regulations started to be published from mid-2022. Here, we set out our preliminary observations and feedback to industry, based on our review of a selection of the tranche one climate-related disclosures published by occupational pension schemes Libro completo “aquí”

UK. Triple lock could add £45bn a year to state pensions bill by 2050, IFS says

Maintaining the triple lock on state pensions could add as much as £45bn a year to the welfare bill by 2050, putting “insurmountable pressure” on the government to increase the minimum retirement age, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. In a report published ahead of the release next week of official data for earnings growth, which will be used to set the annual increase in pensions, the IFS estimates spending on retirees could rise by a further £2bn from...

Pension Protection Fund pushes for new remit to boost UK investment

The UK’s pension lifeboat fund is pushing to become a consolidator of corporate retirement plans in a move that it believes could unleash “substantial” new investment for the economy. In a submission to the government published on Tuesday, the Pension Protection Fund said that if ministers wanted to unleash money held by pension funds into the economy there would need to be a “step change” in the market. The PPF is a statutory fund set up in 2005 and is...

UK. Government announces new welfare reforms to help thousands into work

A consultation, launched today (Tuesday 5 September), will consider changes to the Work Capability Assessment, with proposals to ensure it is delivering the right outcomes for supporting those most in need. The consultation will look at updating the Work Capability Assessment’s categories so they better reflect the modern world of work and the opportunities more readily available to disabled people. Earlier this year, Government confirmed investment worth £2 billion to support disabled people and those with long-term health conditions into work,...

Raise pension contributions to combat UK capital market decline, says think-tank

Higher minimum contributions to pension schemes and turning the regulatory screw would help plug shortfalls in retirement income and reverse shrinkage in Britain's capital market, think-tank New Financial said in a report on Tuesday. A welter of regulatory reforms to bolster London's capital market and boost the flow of money from pensions into investments is a good start, but more is needed to avoid pensioners having too little to live on, said New Financial CEO William Wright. "This isn't something that...

UK. One in five cut back or axe pension saving – risking a poorer retirement

One in five people have cut pension contributions or stopped saving for retirement due to tighter household budgets, research reveals. Men, younger people and higher earners are the most likely to have pared back or axed pension contributions altogether, despite the serious damage this inflicts to their long term finances. Inflation also means people need to save up even bigger pensions than ever to fund a decent old age. Some 14 per cent of people have stopped saving into their pension and 8...

UK. ‘Real risk of new generation of pension inequality if action not taken’

There is a “real risk” of a new generation of pension inequality emerging if further action is not taken, according to new research. Government, employers and the pensions industry need to act, the report from consultants LCP (Lane Clark & Peacock) said. The Government should take further steps to reduce the inequalities which arise following the birth of a child, including effective policies on shared parenting and greater provision of support for childcare for the youngest children, the report said. Employers should...

August 2023

UK pension schemes could save £2bn in fees, research finds

UK pension schemes could save about £2bn from fees paid to asset managers without sacrificing returns, according to research that suggests price competition among institutional investors is failing to drive down costs. Asset managers often offer fee discounts to key clients such as pension schemes to win their business but details of these deals have historically been a closely guarded secret. The opacity of the market has led to wide variations in fees paid by pension schemes even when they are...

UK pension funds write to prime minister over net-zero policies

A group of UK pension funds have written to the prime minister warning that recent public statements and policy decisions regarding the net-zero transition are impacting investor confidence. The group, which is comprised of 36 pension schemes and investment managers, that together hold £1.5trn of assets under management yesterday (29 August) wrote to the prime minister Rishi Sunak, warning that mixed messages from the government on its support for the net-zero transition are jeopardising billions of pounds of much needed...

Examining the Effects of Changes to UK Auto-Enrollment

Eliminating the U.K. trigger for auto-enrollment into workplace pension contributions—which currently requires an individual earn more than 10,000 pounds per year—would have a significant positive effect on the retirement outcomes for 90% of individuals, new research shows. However, the change mulled over by lawmakers across the pond may also have a negative impact on a small but considerable segment of the population, according to modeling and research commissioned by the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association and carried out by...