Despite a shorter week leading up to the Bank Holiday, this week saw several developments in the pensions industry.

The Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, reaffirmed the government's commitment to uprate the state pension not only this year but throughout the current parliament.

This week also saw the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) conclude its six-week targeted support policy sprint, marking the first time the regulator has employed this method.

This week also brought a renewed a focus on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), with news that the LGPS pools are awaiting further clarity on the future regulatory and operational requirements for LGPS pools after the majority of pools were given government approval on their proposals.

The Government Actuary's Department stated that while the Northern Ireland LGPS is in good health, the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee pension fund should consider strategies to safeguard against future risks, particularly regarding the utilisation of surpluses.

In addition to this, Equiniti Retirement Solutions was reappointed as an eligible supplier on the National LGPS framework for pension administration software for a further four years.

In the endgame space, research from Aon suggested that 2025 will be a “key year” for pension schemes considering their endgame strategy, emphasising that the rest of the year represented an important period for schemes that have yet to commit to a particular approach.

Illustrating this, the South East Water Pension Scheme completed a £120m buy-in with Just Group this week and the WH Smith Group received a £75m cash refund following a defined benefit (DB) scheme buyout.

Elsewhere, there were several key pieces of research released this week including research by PensionBee which suggested that UK savers are highly cautious when it comes to their retirement savings and want stability over high returns after its research found that less than a tenth (8 per cent) of savers are willing to invest in high-risk assets.

Meanwhile, PensionBee research earlier in the week also showed that the gender pension gap has widened, but on a brighter note, it also found that savers have increased pension contributions by 19 per cent in 2024.

In other news, research from Hymans Robertson found that sole trustees have embraced The Pension Regulator's General Code as an opportunity to innovate their in-house governance approaches.

Industry research has also prompted calls for caution around artificial intelligence (AI) risks, after the PLSA revealed that despite AI already reducing costs, improving efficiencies, and revolutionising member communications, risks must be managed to prevent saver detriment.

This is not the only risk area of focus this week, as Ortec Finance found that physical risk due to rising temperatures is the most serious threat to asset performance.

Its research pointed out even the most ambitious scenario does not anticipate the world reaching net zero until mid-2050.

However, as seems to be great timing with this research, Schroders, in collaboration with Cornell University's Global Labor Institute, has published new guidance for engaging with companies on climate resilience.

The engagement framework outlines that investors can constructively engage with exposed companies to understand their risks and encourage action to strengthen firms' resilience to the impacts of physical climate change.

In other news, the Pension Protection Fund announced the appointment of several firms to its trustee services panel and restructuring and pre-insolvency services framework following the outcome of its recent procurement.

And the Westerby Group has acquired specialist pension provider and independent financial adviser firm Redswan for an undisclosed amount.

---