Pensions: Specialist insurer PIC strikes £400m Amey deal after £600m House of Fraser buy-in January 16, 2023 The specialist insurer that bought out House of Fraser’s pensions fund for £600m last year has completed a £400m deal to take over UK engineering firm Amey’s retirement scheme. Pension Insurance Corporation’s (PIC’s) deal will see the firm take responsibility for paying out 3,473 pensions, covering £400m worth of liabilities. Bulk purchase annuity (BPA) deals [...]
Work and pensions minister quits for ‘personal reasons’ January 1, 2023 Work and pensions minister Baroness Stedman-Scott has stepped down for “personal reasons”, Downing Street has said. Lady Stedman-Scott, 67, has been a minister in the department since 2019, having previously been a Government whip in the House of Lords. She is replaced by Viscount Younger of Leckie, who moves from the whips’ office where he [...]
DS Smith pumped £100m into pension scheme amid mini-budget crisis December 8, 2022 Box maker DS Smith revealed it was forced to pump £100m into its pension scheme in September as the market was shaken by the fall out of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
Millions of Brits to pull back on pension to ease unprecedented ‘financial squeeze’ December 7, 2022 Close to one in four Brits with a pension are considering withdrawing money from it, or stopping paying in, or reducing the size of their contributions, to ease the pressure on their finances, according to a survey. More than two-fifths of 16 to 24-year-olds and just under two-fifths of 25 to 34-year-olds are likely to [...]
Over-50s considering returning to work due to concerns about retirement funds December 6, 2022 The overwhelming majority of over-50s are not financially set for retirement due to the pandemic and cost of living crisis. Just under two-fifths of those aged 50-54 are happy their retirement funds are sufficient, rising to 55 per cent for those 60-65. The worrying trend, highlighted in research from Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management, shows [...]
Moneyfarm strikes deal to fully-acquire digital advice platform Profile Pensions December 6, 2022 Online investment adviser Moneyfarm has agreed to fully acquire digital pensions planner Profile Pensions as it pushes forwards with efforts to expand its client base and services offerings. The cash-and-shares deal for an undisclosed sum will see Moneyfarm’s shareholders finance a 100 per cent takeover of the Preston headquartered pension adviser, as it seeks to [...]
Collapsed City pension firm fined millions by FCA over ‘unsuitable’ advice to British Steel workers December 2, 2022 Pembrokeshire Mortgage Centre Limited (PMC), trading as County Financial Consultants, has been fined nearly £2.4 million for unsuitable advice to consumers to transfer out of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) and other pension schemes, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. PMC advised 420 consumers, nearly two-thirds of whom were BSPS members, on whether to [...]
PensionBee announces over £3bn assets under administration November 28, 2022 PensionBee has announced there are over £3bn assets under administration as of this month. The online pension provider said despite the macroeconomic volatility, it has been able to reach this “milestone” through high customer retention and strong net inflows. “The ongoing growth in our Assets under Administration results from our commitment to delivering outstanding customer [...]
Volatile markets and soaring gilt yields could see pensions buy-out boom, analysts say November 14, 2022 The UK could see £200bn worth of pensions buyouts over the next three years as higher gilt yields and increasingly volatile markets boost the attractiveness of bulk purchase annuity deals, analysts have said. The market for bulk purchase annuity deals could show fast paced growth over the next few years as pension funds seek to [...]
Apollo snapped up $1.1bn from UK pension funds in cash scramble November 2, 2022 Apollo Global revealed it bought over $1bn of assets from distressed UK pension funds as they scrambled to raise cash in the near-meltdown sparked by Liz Truss’s tax-cutting mini-budget.