Auto-enrolment contribution rates are far too low says Webb July 27, 2016 Former pensions minister Steve Webb demanded that more needs to be done to encourage saving for retirement after the latest auto-enrolment data was released today. Four years after the Pension Regulator introduced the initiative, six million people – or 66 per cent of the working population – have now signed up for the workplace pension. But the concern is that [...]
Here are the key challenges the new pensions minister will face July 27, 2016 The recent reshuffle meant a whole host of new ministerial faces both at the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). These new ministers will have a full agenda when it comes to pensions. At DWP, the new secretary of state is Damian Green, who will be responsible for controlling welfare spending and getting people back [...]
Women have some catching up to do with their pension pots July 20, 2016 Ladies are lagging behind gentlemen in the retirement savings stakes, research out today has found. The study by Aegon UK found a mere 10 per cent of women are prepared for retirement, compared with 14 per cent of men. Women's pensions pots look particular measly in comparison to men's, with women having £20,000 stashed away on average [...]
Retiring to Europe? You should wait until Brexit negotiations on pensions and healthcare access have concluded July 20, 2016 Many Brits approaching retirement dream of moving to the continent. But Brexit has thrown a spanner in the works. Since the referendum, sterling has plummeted against a basket of foreign currencies, including the euro, and question marks loom over expats’ ability to settle elsewhere in Europe. Things look even more chaotic when it comes to financial [...]
Pension auto-enrolment is getting more UK workers saving for the future July 20, 2016 In a sign that UK workers are starting to save again since the financial crisis hit, new data shows that the total annual pension contributions made in the UK has increased by nearly a fifth since 2010. Analysis of HMRC data by Prudential shows workers paid £9.03bn into pensions in 2014-15, up from the £7.71bn contributed in 2010-11. [...]
Companies increasingly turning to unsustainable sources of cash to keep on top of their defined benefit schemes July 18, 2016 Final salary scheme liabilities are now so out of control that firms are forced to fund them using unsustainable sources, new research has found. The study by Barnett Waddingham, seen exclusively by City A.M., discovered just less than a third (30 per cent) of the listed companies it examined either used external sources of finance or drew on their cash reserves [...]
This pensions giant has just warned downsizing your home to fund your retirement is a terrible idea July 18, 2016 Planning on downsizing and relying on what's left over to fund your retirement? Don't bother, Royal London has warned. Get a pension instead. According to the pensions and investment giant, roughly three million people of working age are planning to use the value of their home to fund their retirement. But a new report by the [...]
The City watchdog is having a think about how you’ll take your pension July 14, 2016 The City watchdog is keen to make sure the pensions market keeps ticking over, and has revealed today just how it plans to do it. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is conducting a Retirement Outcomes Review, with a full report expected to be published next summer, and has today laid out what precisely it plans [...]
Britons are not feeling very optimistic about the future of the state pension July 14, 2016 Britons are not feeling positive about the future of the state pension. Less than a third (32 per cent) of nearly 4,000 people surveyed for Aegon UK believe that the state pension will be as generous when they retire. Read more: Pensions minister to meet Waspi group over pension age reforms Some 33 per cent, [...]
Brexit batters pension plans – from falling annuity rates to slashed savings, it hasn’t been good for wannabe retirees July 14, 2016 Many people have had thousands wiped off the value of their Sipps and investment portfolios in the short time since Brexit. The bad news is that markets are likely to remain uncertain. The good news is that they will probably recover and have a solid period of rises, as the general trend over history shows. [...]