Sheffield Mutual Friendly Society has appointed XPS Group to provide investment consultancy services.

Under the appointment, XPS will provide Sheffield Mutual with investment manager oversight and performance monitoring services and will assess how the society’s investment strategy aligns with its long-term financial objectives. The mandate aims to strengthen Sheffield Mutual’s investment governance by putting better oversight in place, helping the organisation make clearer decisions, respond more effectively to market changes and deliver long‑term value for members. Sheffield Mutual Friendly Society chief executive officer, Jamie Bellamy, said the society is pleased to appoint XPS. Bellamy added that ensuring strong oversight of the society’s investment strategy is “essential to delivering long-term value for our members”.

Two parliamentary committees will hold a joint evidence session on 7 July to scrutinise problems with the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) are set to question ministers over ongoing problems affecting civil servants and their families who have been unable to access or receive their pensions. The committees are due to meet to examine the continued disruption to the scheme’s administration and the impact on members. In response to the crisis, the government confirmed it will offer interest‑free “hardship loans” of up to £10,000 to thousands of people facing financial difficulty because of the failure. The PAC has been scrutinising the situation since autumn 2025, when it warned of a clear risk that Capita would not be ready to take over administration of the scheme. The committees have now jointly invited Cabinet Office minister, Nick Thomas‑Symonds, to give evidence, with discussions expected to cover the termination of Capita’s Royal Mail contract, steps to restore service levels and the future of the scheme.

L&G has secured approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to deliver Targeted Support in its communications to defined contribution (DC) workplace members.

The FCA's approval will enable L&G to deliver more tailored communications to pension scheme members based on their individual circumstances. The first live use case will focus on members whose pension savings are fully invested in cash, highlighting the long‑term risks this can pose to retirement outcomes due to inflation and limited growth. Under Targeted Support, L&G will be able to flag these risks and suggest practical next steps, while leaving decisions with members. Recent testing of the communications showed high engagement levels, with most participants (95 per cent) reporting that the materials were easy to understand. L&G said the approval marked an important step in bridging the gap between guidance and advice across its wider proposition.

The Pension Bridge has launched as a new, low‑cost integrated service provider (ISP) for pensions dashboards, targeting small and medium‑sized pension schemes ahead of the 31 October 2026 connection deadline.

The service, which is already live, will offer dashboard connectivity from £999 per month, saving schemes up to 95 per cent compared with the cost of building and maintaining a connection in-house. It is designed to support schemes that are not typically served by larger enterprise ISPs. With fewer than six months remaining until the statutory deadline, thousands of in‑scope schemes are yet to connect to the dashboards ecosystem. The Pension Bridge said its model offered a simpler and more proportionate solution for smaller schemes, handling data hosting, security, compliance, and find and view requests on their behalf.

---