News – Page 15
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ArticleEmployees want climate change pensions information
Research by workplace savings fintech Cushon has revealed employees overwhelmingly worry about whether their pensions are invested in firms that contribute to climate change - but still feel uninformed about it.The study found 84% of respondents are concerned about climate change and 69% are worried their company pension could be ...
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ArticleTreasury launches pension age consultation
The Treasury has published a consultation, Increasing the Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA), which confirms plans to raise the NMPA from 55 to 57 years by 2028 to reflect changes to the minimum state pension age.The document, published yesterday (11 February), stated: “The government believes that increasing the minimum pension ...
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ArticleLandmark Pension Schemes Bill receives Royal Assent
The Pension Schemes Bill has been granted Royal Assent today, ushering in major changes to pension schemes aimed at providing greater protection for members.The move sees the Bill become the Pensions Schemes Act, almost three years after it was first mooted in response to the BHS and Carillion pension scheme ...
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ArticleEmployees unaware of basic pension facts
Research by consumer watchdog Which? has found most employees are still in the dark about the most basic of pension facts – even though greater numbers do know how they can cash their pension pots in.The poll, conducted among 2,000 workers, revealed that only 38% could correctly identify 55 as ...
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ArticlePension withdrawals continue to rise
Figures released by HMRC have revealed an alarming level of defined contribution pension withdrawals – with money accessed for Q4 up 10% on the same quarter a year earlier.The data shows 360,000 people withdrew from their defined contribution pension during October, November and December last year - up from the ...
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ArticleAberdeen Council completes £230m pension buy-in
Aberdeen Council has completed a £230m buy-in transaction, insuring the pension payments of 1,360 retired FirstGroup employees.According to pensions insurance specialist Rothersay, which completed the transaction, the deal is thought to be only the second local government pension scheme to secure its pension obligations through an insurance policy.Commenting on the ...
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ArticleClimate risk reporting to become mandatory for pension trustees
Workplace pension schemes will be required report on the climate risk of their funds, after the government yesterday published its response to its August 2020 consultation: 'Taking action on climate risk: improving governance and reporting by Occupational Pension Schemes'.The document will instruct trustees of pension plans with more than £5 ...
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ArticleAutomatic enrolment trigger freeze to create just 8,000 new savers
The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) annual review of the automatic enrolment trigger and qualifying earnings for 2021-22, has concluded the existing automatic enrolment (AE) threshold should stay the same for 2021/22 – meaning there will not be many new savers who start contributing to a workplace pension this ...
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ArticleFurlough forces millions to delay retirement plans
Millions of workers face delayed retirement due to being put on furlough and its impact on pay, according to a study by investment firm Fidelity International.The research found that nearly four-in-10 workers surveyed (38%), have said they will have to put back their retirement date by around two-and-a-half years.According to ...
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ArticleMarie Curie completes £30 million bulk annuity transaction
Marie Curie has completed a £30 million bulk annuity pensions transaction with Legal and General Assurance Society.The transaction agreed in January 2021 secures the benefits of more than 300 retries and deferred pensioners.Aon advised the trustees on the transaction, while Capita supported them as administrators of the scheme. Legal advice ...
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ArticleEmployee pension contributions fell by 11% in 2020
Employee and employer contributions to defined contribution (DC) pension schemes dropped by 11% and 5% between quarter one and quarter two of 2020 respectively, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Its analysis, which looked at UK-based funded occupational pension schemes from October 2019 to June 2020, found that total ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 33% of organisations offer cash to staff who reach lifetime or annual limits
EXCLUSIVE: A third (33%) of organisations offer cash as an alternative to pension contributions for those employees that reach their lifetime or annual allowance limits, according to research by Employee Benefits.The Employee Benefits Pensions research 2020, which surveyed 94 pension strategy decision-makers found that this year, 49% of respondents that ...
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ArticleMaersk completes £1.1 billion bulk annuity buy-in transaction
Danish transportation and energy organisation Maersk has completed a £1.1 billion pensions bulk annuity transaction with Legal and General.The arrangement will secure the defined benefit (DB) pension benefits of 1,900 deferred members and 3,000 retired members of the Maersk Retirement Benefit Scheme, removing their investment and longevity risks from the ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 68% say uncertainty on pension decision-making is their key retirement concern
For the third consecutive year, uncertainty around how to make the best decision when accessing pension benefits is the primary concern when it comes to the time leading up to, and during, retirement, according to research by Employee Benefits.The Employee Benefits Pensions research 2020, which surveyed 94 pension strategy decision-makers ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 44% of employers support staff at retirement
Just over two-fifths (44%) of respondents to this year’s research stated that their organisation supports staff at an employee's retirement life stage according to research by Employee Benefits.The Employee Benefits Pensions research 2020, which surveyed 94 pension strategy decision-makers found that this is compared to the 46% of respondents that ...
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ArticleNorthern Gas Networks completes £385 million pensions buy-in transaction
Gas distributor Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has completed a £385 million pensions buy-in transaction with Legal and General.The arrangement will secure the defined benefit (DB) pension benefits of 600 retired members of the Northern Gas Networks Pension Scheme, removing their investment and longevity risks from the scheme. Members will not ...
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ArticleHomestyle Pension Company completes £103m bulk annuity buy-in transaction
Homestyle Pension Company has completed a £103 million bulk purchase annuity transaction with Aviva.The arrangement will insure the defined benefit (DB) pension liabilities of all 1,294 members of the Homestyle 2007 pension scheme, removing their investment and longevity risks from the scheme. Members will not see any change in the ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 39% of organisations offer a group personal pension plan
The most common primary pension scheme offered by employers is a group personal pension (GPP), as offered by more than a third (39%) of respondents, according to research by Employee Benefits.The Employee Benefits Pensions research 2020, which surveyed 94 pension strategy decision-makers found that a GPP has held the top ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 57% of organisations concerned about staff not having enough pension savings
More than half (57%) of respondents are concerned that the majority of employees do not have enough savings for a comfortable retirement, according to research by Employee Benefits.The Employee Benefits Pensions research 2020, which surveyed 94 pension strategy decision-makers, found that this issue has seen a slight decline of three ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 16% of employees reduced pension contribution levels due to Covid-19
One-sixth (16%) of employees reduced their pension contribution levels, while 7% stopped their contributions altogether as a result of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, according to research by Employee Benefits.The Employee Benefits Pensions research 2020, which surveyed 94 pension strategy decision-makers, also found that a further 15% chose to come out ...