No 10 insists government will stick to £4bn ‘triple lock’ pension pledge June 21, 2021 A spokesperson for the prime minister has vowed the government will not ditch the “triple lock” pension pledge, despite its £4bn price tag. Downing Street insisted that the pledge – part of the Conservative party manifesto in 2019 – will not be broken, after reports that government ministers were considering a temporary suspension to the [...]
Analysts warn Rishi Sunak: Treasury’s pensions raid could be ‘hugely risky’ June 21, 2021 The Treasury is eyeing pensions taxation as one way to pay for the cost of the pandemic, it was reported this morning. Although there are no plans to make changes to the triple lock, the Treasury is looking at three ways to change the ways in which pension contributions are taxed, which some analysts have [...]
Sunak says pensions triple lock remains government policy as he faces £4bn bill June 17, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the triple lock on pensions remains government policy after it emerged that he may have to spend £4bn more on pensioners from next year if he sticks to the pledge. Sunak was grilled on the issue in an interview with GB News, after ONS data published earlier in the week [...]
Tories’ ‘triple lock’ pension pledge could cost Treasury £4bn June 16, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will have to stump up £4bn on pensioners from next year to cover the Conservative Party’s ‘triple lock’ pledge, despite efforts to cut back spending after the pandemic. The headline growth rate of average UK earnings rose to 5.6 per cent in April — an artificial inflation caused by last year’s furlough [...]
Pensions ‘perfect storm’ could lead to young people dropping out, warns watchdog June 11, 2021 A pensions perfect storm could lead to younger generations dropping out and having inadequate incomes in later life, a spending watchdog has warned. The Treasury has also done little to identify and manage the stark differences in average pensions between genders and other groups, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in its [...]
Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels baker snapped up by Nutella maker Ferrero June 1, 2021 Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels baker snapped up by Nutella maker Ferrero
Sunday Times Rich List: Who are the UK’s wealthiest women? May 21, 2021 The lack of women in the boy’s club of billionaires was loud and clear in the Sunday Times Rich List released, so where and who are the UK’s wealthiest women? Bet365’s Denise Coates, who leads the online gambling company after re-mortgaging her father’s chain of betting shops to raise the cash to expand her website, [...]
Pension transfer scam crackdown risks delaying thousands of transfers May 14, 2021 The government tabled proposals to tackle pension scheme fraud today, but it could risk blocking or delaying thousands of legitimate transfers, AJ Bell’s chief executive has warned. The plans outlined by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could push providers to ask people transferring to a pension scheme not on the government-approved ‘safe destination’ [...]
BT: Investors unenthused by £2bn pension funding deal as shares drop 6.3 per cent May 13, 2021 BT today announced plans to bring full-fibre broadband to an extra 5m homes as the financial burden of its pension deficit eased. The telecoms firm struck a new deal for its pension, which is one of the biggest in the country at £7.98bn. Some £2bn of deficit will be met through an asset-backed funding arrangement [...]
More private sector DB pension schemes in surplus than deficit as UK moves toward economic recovery May 11, 2021 The funding of private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the last year has become healthier, with the number of schemes in surplus greater than those in deficit. Last month, of 5,318 private sector DB schemes, there were 2,622 schemes in deficit and 2,696 in surplus, according to figures from the Pension Protection Fund’s [...]