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 [...]
HMRC repays overtaxed pensioners £716m in six years April 30, 2021 Savers overtaxed on pension freedom withdrawals have reclaimed £716m since 2015, when changes were introduced that allowed savers to flexibly access their pensions. The overtaxation occurs when someone accesses their retirement ‘flexibly’ for the first time in a tax year – which can include taking income via drawdown or withdrawing ad-hoc lump sums – HMRC [...]
BA looks set to recover from pandemic, so why are its 40-something pilots giving up their gold-plated pensions? April 20, 2021 In turbulent times, when the future of a company is being called into question, it is not uncommon for staff to transfer out of their employer’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, if they have one. Although seen as “gold-plated”, some DB scheme members worry about their scheme falling to the pension lifeboat fund, and that [...]
Government opens call for evidence of social factors in UK pension schemes March 24, 2021 The government has launched a call for evidence to understand the extent to which social factors are integrated into pension schemes’ investment activities. The 12-week review will collect views on how pension scheme trustees are considering social factors as part of their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies. The government introduced its first ESG policies [...]