August 2023
25Aug

UK. Interest rates and pensions: good news and bad

The much higher interest rates we have seen in the past few months are clearly bad news for borrowers, especially for younger people trying to buy their first home. And higher long-term interest rates, pushing down the value of bonds, have hit the value of defined contribution (DC) pension pots, even though equities are up. However, it’s not all bad news, particularly not for older Britons. For those with a DC pension who have retired, or nearing retirement, higher bond interest...

August 25, 2023
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25Aug

Global Pension Risk Transfer Monitor: Record H1 Transaction Volumes in UK and US

-The Legal & General Group’s Global Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) businesses – Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI), the United Kingdom’s longest-serving active PRT provider and Legal & General Retirement America (LGRA), a leading provider of pension risk solutions in the United States – today released the latest edition of the Global PRT Monitor, which analyses industry trends and market outlooks in the UK and US. In the US, the Monitor found that last year’s record momentum for US transactions...

August 25, 2023
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22Aug

UK. PLSA: Can low earners be safely auto-enrolled in workplace pensions?

In the realm of pensions policy, there exists a significant knowledge gap when it comes to understanding and addressing the needs of low earners. While various segments of the population have been subject to extensive research, individuals with low incomes who are still engaged in employment have remained relatively understudied. The PLSA commissioned the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) to evaluate the issue of low earners and whether AE could provide a way of improving their retirement outcomes. The subsequent report -...

August 22, 2023
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21Aug

UK. Triple lock helps the poorest pensioners

Discussion of the triple lock for state pensions has to take account of the fact that, according to the House of Commons library, “a comparison of state pension alone shows the UK providing a lower level of pension than most other advanced economies relative to average earnings”. The deficit is somewhat ameliorated for those with private pension income. This results in about 2.1 million pensioners living in poverty. Whatever its political intentions, the economic effect of the triple lock was...

August 21, 2023
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18Aug

Uncovering the profile of low earners in the UK and the potential for pension saving through automatic enrolment

By Pensions and lifetime savings association  In the realm of pensions policy, there exists a significant knowledge gap when it comes to understanding and addressing the needs of low earners in the United Kingdom. While various segments of the population have been subject to extensive research, individuals with low incomes who are still engaged in employment have remained relatively understudied. This group represents a complex demographic, comprising diverse subgroups, who may be earning modest incomes for varying reasons and circumstances. The...

August 18, 2023
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18Aug

Prime Minister Says He’s Sticking to UK ‘Triple Lock’ Pensions Guarantee

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he’s committed to raising the UK state pension in line with the highest of inflation, wages or 2.5%, even though the longstanding “triple lock” policy is proving increasingly expensive. “Of course the government is committed to its policy on the triple lock,” Sunak told ITV on Wednesday. The most recent data on inflation — prices gained 6.8% in July — and for wages, which rose 7.8% in the three months through June, suggest that keeping the...

August 18, 2023
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09Aug

Por “High court: member ‘interests’ include future service benefits”

The High Court has ruled that a scheme rule restricting amendments that will affect members’ ‘interests’ applies to future service benefits, as well as benefits already accrued: BBC v BBC Pension Trust Limited. The amendment power in the BBC Pension Scheme is subject to a restriction that no alteration may ‘take effect as regards the Active Members whose interests are certified by the Actuary to be affected thereby’ unless certain conditions are complied with (designed to ensure that the relevant...

August 9, 2023
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01Aug

BBC cannot cut future pension accruals, U.K. High Court rules

The BBC cannot modify its defined benefit fund to cut future benefits for participants, the U.K.'s High Court ruled July 28. The BBC Pension Scheme, London, sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corp., had £19.8 billion ($25.4 billion) in assets as of March 31, 2022, the latest available figure. It has four levels of benefit structures. In December 2020, the pension fund completed a £3 billion longevity swap with Zurich and Canada Life Reinsurance to provide more certainty over future funding costs....

August 1, 2023
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July 2023
28Jul

UK. pension funds, consultants rely on flawed climate research – report

Pension funds and their investment consultants are depending on flawed research that lowballs the financial risk of climate change, according to a report released Thursday by Carbon Tracker. A study done for the financial think tank by University of London research fellow Steve Keen places much of the blame on climate economists for perpetuating "scientifically false assumptions," according to the study report, Loading the Dice against Pensions. Relying on flawed research leads to a disconnect between current investment decisions that assume...

July 28, 2023
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26Jul

UK pension funds must broaden investments, new regulator warns

UK pension fund trustees must consider increasing the range of their investments, including in start-ups or other illiquid assets, or face “robust” intervention, the British regulator has warned. Nausicaa Delfas, newly appointed chief executive of The Pensions Regulator, added that it was important for trustees of defined contribution plans to have the expertise to assess more complex assets — and advised that, if they did not, they should look to consolidate or even wind up their schemes. “Trustees have a duty...

July 26, 2023
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