Mark Hyde Harrison has been elected as the next Chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), Britain’s biggest pensions trade body. He will succeed Lindsay Tomlinson whose two-year term of office ends at the NAPF Annual General Meeting in Manchester on 21 October 2011. Mark Hyde Harrison is Chief Executive of the Barclays [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is urging consumers to treat any schemes that offer the chance of unlocking money from pension savings early with “extreme caution”. Normally, money can only be taken from a pension when the plan holder is aged 55 or over, but pension unlocking schemes claim to allow individuals to gain access [...]
The Government has announced that legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill to remove pension tax rules that currently mean members of registered pension schemes must buy an annuity by the age of 75. The new rules will take effect from 6th April 2011 and will allow those with defined contribution pensions to defer [...]
The value of UK pensions could be dramatically improved and pensioner poverty significantly reduced, according to new research published by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). In a report entitled “Building the consensus for a People’s Pension in Britain”, the body claims that a “huge” proportion of UK pensions [...]
The Government’s proposed NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) pension scheme has come in for some heavy criticism from Saga. The over 50′s provider believes the initial 2% charge on NEST pension contributions is “unwise and unfair” because it penalises those who contribute to the scheme in the early years and could damage pension outcomes for [...]
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has reported that its balance sheet has moved from a £1.2 billion deficit in 2008/09 to a reserve of almost £400 million over liabilities, in 2009/10. The Fund’s main function is to provide compensation to members of eligible defined benefit pension schemes where an employer goes bust, and its improved [...]
Membership of defined benefit (DB) occupational pension schemes in the private sector fell from 2.6 million in 2008 to 2.4 million in 2009, according to the Office for National Statistics. Analysis of the Occupational Pension Schemes Survey also shows that while DB schemes are traditionally referred to as “final salary”, 23% of private sector active [...]
The Government has announced that all UK businesses will need to offer eligible employees a pension scheme by 2016. The new requirements will be staged in over the four years from October 2012 (depending on the size of the employer) and where a firm chooses to provide a money purchase scheme, minimum contribution requirements will [...]
Defined benefit pension pots have shrunk further in the past four weeks, according to Aon Consulting’s DC Index. The employee benefits firm has calculated that a 30-year-old’s and 60-year-old’s annual pension income has decreased by £518 and £358 respectively, while 65-year-olds are left on a mere £7,666 a year. The sum amounts to almost half [...]
The new coalition government has announced that the parties are agreed “to end the rules requiring compulsory annuitisation at 75″. Under current rules, members of defined contribution company pension schemes and those with private pension savings must buy an annuity with their pension pot by the age of 75. Unfortunately for some, annuity rates plummeted [...]
The Personal Accounts pension initiative due to be introduced in 2011 has been renamed the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). NEST is aimed at workers who are not members of employers’ schemes, with the target group aged 22 and over and with earnings of between £5,035 and £33,540. Once the scheme is fully up and [...]
A survey of the UK’s private pension schemes has revealed that nine out of 10 defined benefit schemes are closed to new entrants, with one in five even closed to future accruals from existing members. Research from the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has also revealed that over half of the UK’s defined contribution schemes [...]
A new report from KPMG suggests that the last ten years could become known as the “lost decade” for pensions. According to the accountancy firm, average pension scheme returns have been less than half that of bank deposits, growing assets by just over 2.25% a year (excluding costs). Based on a fairly typical investment strategy [...]
The Pensions Regulator has called for greater scrutiny of transfer incentive exercises, and is warning trustees of the risks these pose to members of company pension schemes. The credit crisis and recession has prompted many employers to review their pension provisions in efforts to reduce liabilities, particularly for Defined Benefit (DB) schemes. However, the watchdog’s [...]
The Pensions Advisory Service has confirmed that many workers approaching retirement today are facing the lowest payouts in history. The Service, which is a government-funded organisation that provides information and guidance on all pension matters, has followed up research from financial information website, Moneyfacts. A study of the market found that workers are likely to [...]
New figures from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) show the extent to which the recession has continued to take its toll on private sector defined benefit (DB) schemes. In its annual survey the body, which represents 1,200 UK workplace pension schemes, found that only 23% of schemes remain open to new members, compared [...]
The introduction of the Personal Account pension has been delayed for a year, meaning the government scheme will not be fully operative until 2016. Personal Accounts are aimed at people who don’t belong to employers’ schemes. They were originally due to be launched in 2012, although phased in over three years. The target group is [...]
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has launched a quality mark for defined contribution schemes. The move is aimed at helping employees judge the quality of a company pension scheme and the award is only given where certain minimum standards are met, including employer contribution levels at 6%. The amount is double what will [...]
New figures from Aon Consulting estimate the combined deficit of the UK’s 8,000 defined-benefit (DC) pension schemes in the private sector at over £1 trillion. However, the firm puts the liabilities faced by the 200 biggest schemes at £78 million at the end of last month, up only £3 million from the end of June. [...]
