British Airways pension scheme strikes landmark £4.4bn deal with L&G September 13, 2018 British Airways (BA) has this morning struck a bumper deal to insure £4.4bn worth of pension liabilities in its Airways Pension Scheme (APS). Insurer Legal & General will cover the enormous pension buy-in, which represents the largest ever so called bulk annuity transfer with a UK pension scheme. The contract will see L&G agree to [...]
Six warning signs for fund investors September 11, 2018 | City Talk Knowing when to avoid or sell a fund can be tricky. Rob Morgan highlights some of the warning signs Charles Stanley’s Collectives Research Team look out for and how they spot them. Fund manager change This is probably the most obvious warning sign, but it doesn’t necessarily make the fund a ‘sell’. Many funds [...]
Pension schemes urged to be transparent about whether they’re making ‘socially responsible’ investments September 11, 2018 Savers will be able to easily check whether their pension is being invested in ethical or environmentally friendly investments in new measures outlined by the government today. Regulations expected to be brought in this week will require trustees of schemes to disclose where people's savings are going. Pension scheme members will be able to see [...]
Debate: Given concerns that pension transfers are too generous, should people be allowed to cash out of defined benefit schemes? September 10, 2018 Given concerns that pension transfers are too generous, should people be allowed to cash out of defined benefit schemes? Yes – Steve Webb is director of policy at Royal London For most people who have built up valuable pension rights in a salary-related pension scheme, leaving their rights in the scheme will be the best [...]
One in five FTSE 350 firms still aren’t transparent about their pension deficit September 10, 2018 One in five of the UK's 350 biggest firms are still are not disclosing the funding position or surplus of their defined benefit (DB) pension scheme. Though that represents a major drop from 2016, when the figure was over two-thirds (67 per cent), the figures from Lincoln Pensions highlight the continuing issue with transparency around [...]
Does your child have a forgotten £1,000 nest egg? September 7, 2018 | City Talk Child Trust Funds (CTFs) were once a popular way to save for children. They were introduced in April 2005 to encourage long-term saving and give all children a financial boost by the time they reached 18. The government sent vouchers to parents of between £250 and £500 to give accounts a head start, and family [...]
European Court rules that UK pension lifeboat must lift compensation cap September 6, 2018 The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled today that pensioners should receive at least 50 per cent of the value of their pension in the event that their employer goes bust. The UK’s pensions lifeboat, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), had capped compensation for those that had lost their pensions when their employers [...]
Child trust funds: Should you trust your teenager with their financial future? September 6, 2018 On the surface, a product that is designed to encourage parents to save money for their children sounds ideal. But child trust funds (CTFs) are riddled with problems. The first CTFs reached maturity at the beginning of this month, potentially giving some 16-year-olds partial control over a big pot of cash. Introduced by the then [...]
Pensions provider Just delays dividend amid mortgage rule change fears September 6, 2018 Pensions provider Just Group has delayed issuing its half-year dividend due to the threat posed to its finances by new lifetime mortgage rules. The life insurer also reported an 85 per cent increase in its adjusted operating profit to £124m for the six months ending 30 June after “exceptional sales growth” of its retirement products. [...]
ISA saver numbers fall to lowest level since 2000 August 31, 2018 The number of savers using ISAs has fallen to an 18-year low as consumers seek alternative investment methods. New account numbers fell to 10.8m in 2017/18, the lowest number since 2000, according to new figures published by HMRC today. However, although there are fewer accounts, the amount of money being saved in ISAs has increased hugely – [...]