All Pensions articles – Page 58
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Supplier article
Forget default pathways, we need guidance pathways first
The Work and Pensions Committee has recently recommended that every pension provider which offers drawdown should be required to offer a default decumulation pathway by April 2019.Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work, comments: “I find the idea of defaulting members into something without a positive choice being made extremely worrying ...
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ArticleUK has a 31% pension gender gap
The UK has a 31% pension gender gap, with an average female pension pot of £16,083 compared to the average male pension savings of £23,416, according to research by PensionBee.Its analysis of 5,098 individuals who save into PensionBee pensions also found that the gender gap in Northern Ireland is 76%, ...
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ArticleUpper Tribunal rules against ITV in pensions anti-avoidance case
The Upper Tribunal has ruled against television broadcasting organisation ITV, confirming that pensions watchdog organisation The Pensions Regulator (TPR) was entitled to use its powers to gain financial support for members of the Box Clever pension scheme.The case, ITV and others v The Pensions Regulator, concerns TPR’s decision to undertake ...
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ArticleBuckingham Palace seeks private secretary for the Princess Royal
Something for the weekend: Some individuals may view peeking behind the doors of Buckingham Palace as more of a tourist outing than a potential job perk, but the royal household is now recruiting for a new private secretary to serve Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal (pictured), offering a lucrative ...
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ArticleMarks and Spencer completes £1.4bn pensioner buy-in
Retailer Marks and Spencer has completed a £1.4 billion pensioner buy-in transaction for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.The buy-in transaction was completed with insurers Aviva and Phoenix Life using an umbrella master agreement. It has been designed to reduce longevity risk for a proportion of the pension scheme’s retired ...
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ArticleNational Grid agrees £2bn pension longevity swap
Energy organisation National Grid has agreed to an intermediated longevity swap for its Electricity Group’s UK pension scheme, to counteract the cost risks associated with pensioners and future dependent members having longer life expectancies.The longevity swap, which has been completed with Zurich, has been arranged to cover the pensioner liabilities ...
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ArticleCrest Healthcare fined more than £20,000 for pensions non-compliance
Crest Healthcare and its managing director have been sentenced to pay more than £20,000 in fines after being found guilty of not complying with auto-enrolment duties, and of providing false information to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) about a workplace pension scheme.The Birmingham-based organisation and managing director Sheila Aluko each pleaded ...
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ArticleTPR to take tougher approach on employers that do not take pensions seriously
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published its corporate plan for 2018 to 2021, in which it has stated its aim to take a tougher approach regarding employers that are not taking pension schemes seriously, as well as introducing a new anti-scams campaign to help savers.TPR will also work alongside those ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Mind the (contribution) gap
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published earlier this week, showed that membership of workplace pensions has reached record levels since the launch of auto-enrolment; just under three-quarters (73%) of employees contributed to a workplace pension in 2017, compared to less than 47% in 2012.According to the ONS’ ...
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Article73% of employees have active workplace pensions due to auto-enrolment
In 2012, less than half (47%) of UK employees had active workplace pensions. By 2017, that number rose to almost three-quarters (73%), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The ONS attributes this increase to the introduction by the government of auto-enrolment in October 2012. To be eligible for auto-enrolment, ...
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ArticleAverage southern pension pots almost double those in the north
The average yearly pension income across the UK is £21,441, but this figure is far from evenly split among the various regions, according to research by online pension manager PensionBee.Its report, which surveyed 5,098 UK employees, also found that the south-east had the highest average pension size within England, at ...
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ArticleFTSE 350 defined benefit pension deficit falls to £53bn
The accounting deficit for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes at the UK’s top 350 organisations has decreased by £19 billion, from £72 billion at the end of March 2018 to £53 billion at the end of April 2018, according to research by Mercer.The research, which analyses pension deficits calculated using ...
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ArticleTPR to appoint enforcement officers to seize assets for pension non-compliance fines
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is to appoint high court enforcement officers (HCEOs) to enforce court orders or their equivalent on employers who have failed or refused to comply with auto-enrolment pension duties.The HCEOs will operate in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and will have the ability to visit the ...
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ArticlePoll: 55% think more employers will offer collective DC pensions after Royal Mail
Employee Benefits Poll: More than half (55%) of respondents think that more employers will follow the example set by postal organisation Royal Mail and implement collective defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.A straw poll of www.employeebenefits.co.uk readers, which received 44 responses, also found that 20% of respondents do not think organisations ...
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ArticleDefined benefit pension funding deficit falls to £200bn as of April 2018
The funding deficit for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK has fallen to £200 billion at the end of April 2018, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).Its Skyval Index, which is based on data relating to 5,800 DB pension funds and collected through the Skyval pensions platform used ...
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ArticleEmployees entitled to at least 50% of pension if employer becomes insolvent rules EU court
The Advocate General at The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that employees are entitled to at least 50% of the total value of their accrued pension pot in the event that their employer becomes insolvent.The case concerned is Grenville Hampshire v The Board of the ...
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ArticleTPR to prosecute Samuel Smith Old Brewery for not providing information
Image credit: Samuel Smith Old BreweryThe Pensions Regulator (TPR) is to prosecute Samuel Smith Old Brewery and its chairman for failing to provide financial information pertinent to an ongoing pensions investigation.TPR issued a notice on 12 January 2018 to the North Yorkshire brewery and its chairman, Humphrey Smith, to request ...
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ArticleUniversity of London outsourced workers strike to gain employment rights
Workers employed by outsourcing organisations that have contracts with the University of London, and who are members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), are undertaking a two-day strike in a dispute over employment rights.More than 100 workers will be taking strike action on Wednesday 25 and Thursday ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: Aspen launches online financial education programme
EXCLUSIVE: Insurance and reinsurance organisation Aspen has launched an online financial education programme for its 700 UK employees.Its financial education programme, which is provided by Nudge. launched on 20 April 2018, ahead of Aspen's annual flexible benefits selection window in May. It was launched via an email campaign and through ...
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ArticleNigel Peaple: Should employers pay more than the minimum contributions required under auto-enrolment?
Automatic-enrolment has been a great success, with 9.5 million new pension savers enrolled since its introduction, according to the Automatic-enrolment declaration of compliance report: July 2012-end March 2018, published by The Pensions Regulator (TPR). Nevertheless, there is more work to do. There are more people saving for later life than ...