5 07, 2023

U.K. industry group proposes ESG ratings, data providers’ code of conduct

2023-07-06T11:06:09-07:00July 5th, 2023|Categories: ESG|Tags: , |

By Hazel Bradford Source: Pensions & Investments A draft code of conduct for providers of ESG ratings and data was released Wednesday by a U.K. industry working group seeking feedback. Appointed by the Financial Conduct Authority in November to help with ESG oversight, the ESG Data and Ratings Working Group run by the International Capital Market Association and the International Regulatory Strategy Group released the proposed voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Product Providers for public [...]

24 04, 2023

U.K. Pensions Regulator calls for more safeguards for LDI

2023-05-03T13:59:18-07:00April 24th, 2023|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: , |

By Paulina Pielichata Source: Pensions & Investments Pension fund trustees should put in place appropriate buffers to manage any leveraged liability-driven investment arrangements, the U.K. Pensions Regulator said Monday. In a new guidance, which was published following the September LDI crisis, the regulator said investors must also include an operational buffer specific to the LDI arrangement to manage day-to-day changes, in addition to the 250 basis points minimum. Setting the right buffer level is essential so the fund can [...]

7 11, 2022

UK to reveal stealth tax raid on pensions later this month

2022-11-07T11:20:07-08:00November 7th, 2022|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: , |

Source: Reuters British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and finance minister Jeremy Hunt plan to reveal a stealth tax raid on pensions later this month, The Telegraph reported on Friday. The pension lifetime allowance is set to be frozen for two more years, with a rise in line with prices delayed from 2025 to 2027, the newspaper said, without citing sources. The allowance level has risen with prices in the past, but Sunak, as the finance minister last year, froze [...]

5 10, 2022

State pension age could rise to 68 ‘by 2035’ – leaving millions waiting longer for payment

2022-10-05T14:14:39-07:00October 5th, 2022|Categories: Retirement|Tags: , |

By Temie Laleye Source: Express UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is considering increasing the age for claiming the state pension to 68 by mid-2030. This is more than a decade sooner than the current policy. Under the current plans, it will not rise to 68 until 2046 — which means it will affect anyone born after 1977. Read the full article

16 08, 2022

U.K. pension regulator calling on plan sponsors to support pension scam prevention strategy

2022-08-16T08:46:33-07:00August 16th, 2022|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: , , |

Source: Benefits Canada The Pension Regulator, the U.K. government body that oversees defined benefit pension plans, is calling on plan sponsors to help advance a three-pronged strategy to fight pension fraud. “Over many years, we have worked to prevent savers’ losses and put fraudsters in prison: running large-scale public awareness campaigns, leading a multi-agency response to the threat through [the pension scams action group]. . . . But the truth is, we must all do more to combat pension [...]

27 07, 2022

U.K. pushes pension trustees to focus on the ‘S’ in ESG, with help

2022-07-27T11:31:00-07:00July 27th, 2022|Categories: ESG|Tags: , |

By Hazel Bradford Source: Pensions & Investments The U.K. government wants to make sure that pension fund trustees are giving enough attention to social factors that could have financial implications, and is setting up a task force to help. "The 'S' of ESG is one area in which the risk management of pension schemes can be strengthened," said Pensions Minister Guy Opperman, the longest serving parliamentary undersecretary of state for pensions and financial inclusion, in a statement on the [...]

4 02, 2022

Typical DB pension scheme can fund 98.4% of benefits in ‘new high’

2022-02-04T11:57:15-08:00February 4th, 2022|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: , , , |

By Jack Gray Source: Pensions Age The health of defined benefit (DB) schemes in the UK reached a “new high” in Q4 2021, with the typical scheme expected to be able to fund 98.4 per cent of accrued pension benefits, according to Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). The typical scheme being able to fund 98.4 per cent of accrued benefits, as at 31 December 2021, was 0.1 percentage points higher than the 98.3 per cent figure recorded at [...]

13 10, 2021

U.K. pensions will be greener and DC plans more consolidated, minister says

2021-10-13T10:11:25-07:00October 13th, 2021|Categories: Retirement|Tags: , |

By Hazel Bradford Source: Pensions & Investments U.K. pension funds are on a journey to be "safer, better and greener," and defined contribution plans are headed for consolidation, U.K. Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion Guy Opperman said Tuesday at the P&I World Pension Summit in The Hague. Last year, the U.K. was the first G-7 country to commit to mandatory climate disclosures under the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, and pension funds will have to disclose how [...]

7 04, 2021

UK universities propose cutting benefits to save pension scheme

2021-04-07T16:22:15-07:00April 7th, 2021|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: , |

By Bethan Staton and Josephine Cumbo Source: Financial Times Hundreds of thousands of university sector staff in the UK would see their retirement benefits cut under employer proposals to avert “unaffordable” rises in contributions as the sector struggles with a years-long pensions crisis.  Plans outlined on Wednesday by Universities UK, which represents more than 340 higher education sector employers, would see guaranteed pensions for about 200,000 of the 460,000 members become less generous, with higher-earning academics taking the biggest [...]

16 03, 2021

Uber grants UK drivers worker status after losing major labor battle

2021-03-16T15:27:38-07:00March 16th, 2021|Categories: Economy|Tags: , |

On the heels of losing a major labor battle in the United Kingdom, Uber will reclassify all U.K.-based drivers as workers. Under the new designation, more than 70,000 drivers will receive some benefits, including minimum wage, holiday time and pension contributions, but they will not get full employee benefits. Uber announced the change in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that its U.K. ride-hailing business accounted for 6.4% of all mobility gross bookings in the fourth quarter of [...]

18 02, 2021

Landmark Pension Schemes Bill receives Royal Assent

2021-02-18T10:31:53-08:00February 18th, 2021|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: , |

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 scandals, which slashed the value of thousands of workers’ pensions at both organisations. Announcing the enactment, minister for pensions Guy Opperman, said “This is a historic day for [...]

6 01, 2021

Essential workers face major Covid-19 risk because of outdated safety rules

2021-01-06T14:26:27-08:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Economy|Tags: , , |

The TUC Tuesday called on the government to urgently update workplace safety rules to protect essential workers and those who can’t work from home from Covid-19. Since the rules were published in March 2020, the scientific understanding of how the virus spreads has changed. And the UK is now battling a strain that is far more easily transmitted. Yet the rules have not been fully updated – and the union body says that this is putting workers at risk. [...]

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