Phoenix hikes dividend as pensions deals bolster insurer’s business August 15, 2022 Phoenix Group today upped its dividend after posting “record” financial results for the first half of 2022. The London insurer hiked its dividend by three per cent to heights of 24.8p a share after a series of pensions deals bolstered Phoenix’s revenues. The pensions deals, signed off in the first half of last year, saw [...]
WH Smith de-risks pensions scheme via Standard Life insurance policy August 8, 2022 WH Smith on Monday said it had taken out a bulk annuity insurance policy with Standard Life, through which the Phoenix Group subsidiary will cover the costs of the retailer’s £1bn pension scheme. The high-street bookseller’s insurance policy will see Standard Life pay the pensions of the almost 13,000 members of WH Smith’s defined [...]
New pension scheme to ‘inject innovation’ into the industry August 1, 2022 A brand new vehicle to help Brits save for retirement launches today in what is being billed by ministers as “an injection of innovation” into the pension regime. Collective defined contribution pensions (CDC) will provide an alternative to defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, Britain’s two main retirement saving programmes. CDCs are [...]
Exclusive: Ministers plan ‘final salary’ pension reform as £1.7tn schemes face liquidity crunch July 26, 2022 Ministers have announced plans to ramp up regulatory scrutiny of ‘final salary’ pension schemes today amid fears that rising interest rates and soaring inflation will leave some schemes facing a liquidity crunch this year.
PensionBee eyes profits next year after boom in customers July 21, 2022 Pensions fintech PensionBee said it was on track to hit profitability by the end of 2023 today as it revealed it had boosted its invested customer base by 72 per cent on last year.
Exclusive: Pensions minister launches taskforce to scrutinise ‘social’ ESG investment July 16, 2022 Ministers have launched a new taskforce to scrutinise environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing by pension schemes today, amid concerns that the 'social’ factor of investment has been neglected by fund managers in recent years.
Money matters – Financial literacy: A vaccine for life July 12, 2022 | City Talk Could a double dose of financial literacy combined with experience help households make more rational financial decisions? What can be done to enable households to make more rational financial decisions? In the wise words of Warren Buffet, one of the greatest investors of all time, invest in yourself by accessing the latest financial education for [...]
Climate reporting a ‘burden’ for pension funds but the only way forward, says Opperman July 11, 2022 Newly reappointed pensions minister Guy Opperman said today that new climate reporting measures for pension funds were a “challenge” and “burden” for fund managers but it was clear it was now the only way to clean up investment. Opperman, who resigned and was reappointed to his role last week, said that becoming the first country [...]
Fire Bridges Union wins permission to challenge govt’s pension reforms via judicial review July 5, 2022 Public sector workers’ unions have been given permission to challenge a UK government’s pensions policy through a judicial review. A coalition of unions, led by the UK’s Fire Brigades Union (FBU), will be allowed to challenge the government’s decision to force members to pay for changes to public sector pensions schemes, instead of footing the [...]
Clamp down on ‘rogue pension providers’ preventing transfers, PensionBee boss tells ministers July 5, 2022 The boss of fintech firm PensionBee has called on the government and regulators to clamp down on “rogue providers” preventing the transfer of pension pots, as ministers prepare to assess the impact of freedoms granted to retirement savers seven years ago.