Latest News
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TPR urges trustees to lead on climate risks as regulatory pressure ramps up
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Uncertainty lingers despite govt plans to address Virgin Media ruling fallout
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Blog: In fine fettle
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TPO upholds complaint against employer for maladministration
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This week in pensions: 28 July – 1 August 2025
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News in brief - 1 August 2025
Archive News
Whilst several UK businesses have been reassured by the news that the government will introduce legislation to deal with issues arising from the Virgin Media judgment, many are still monitoring the situation whilst awaiting the final legislative details
Posted: 1/8/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Huma Kitchens Ltd after finding that the company failed to pay contributions into a worker’s Nest pension despite deducting contributions from her pay
Posted: 1/8/25
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including HMRC data, The Pensions Ombudsman’s new corporate strategy, and ongoing concerns around pension adequacy
Posted: 1/8/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 1/8/2025
As God's own county celebrates another Yorkshire Day this Friday, 1 August, Natalie Tuck highlights the talent and vibrancy of the region's thriving pensions sector
Posted: 01/08/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has called on trustees to move beyond compliance and demonstrate leadership on climate and nature-related risks, as it steps up its expectations on investment governance.
In a blog post, TPR’s climate and sustainability lead, Mark Hill, called on trustees to engage with the government’s consultation on mandatory transition plans, describing it as an opportunity for trustees to “shape what good looks like”
In a blog post, TPR’s climate and sustainability lead, Mark Hill, called on trustees to engage with the government’s consultation on mandatory transition plans, describing it as an opportunity for trustees to “shape what good looks like”
Posted: 31/7/25
The estimated cost of gross pension income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) relief rose to £78.2bn in 2023/24, up from £72.1bn the previous year, according to new figures from HMRC
Posted: 31/7/2025
The vast majority (89 per cent) of eligible employees in Great Britain were saving into a workplace pension in 2024, with around 21.7 million eligible employees saving, figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have revealed
Posted: 31/7/25
Several companies have published their 2025 half-year results, showing mixed outcomes regarding the funding of their defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, particularly in relation to surpluses
Posted: 31/7/25
Industry experts have warned that despite an increase in the number of self-employed people making pension contributions, this remains a "drop in the ocean" compared with the level of savings needed
Posted: 31/7/25
UK policymakers should reconsider the definition of pension adequacy and look to successful international examples for improved retirement outcomes, Festina Finance has suggested, emphasising that the UK’s pension adequacy requires a “structural reset"
Posted: 317/25
Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BWS) has announced plans to acquire Just Group for 220 pence per share in cash, in a move that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has highlighted as a demonstration of the "strong faith" in the UK economy
Posted: 31/7/25
The Terex Pension Scheme has completed a buy-in with Aviva, securing the benefits of all remaining members across three fully segregated sections of the scheme, following a partial pensioner buy-in in 2019
Posted: 31/7/2025
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has outlined plans to tackle the rising and "unprecedented" demand for its services, including looking for new and innovative ways to tackle the growing funding gap it is facing.
TPO's 2025-2028 Corporate Strategy argued that while the quality of the ombudsman's work is of a "very high standard", it is aware that customers are currently waiting too long to reach the end of the process
TPO's 2025-2028 Corporate Strategy argued that while the quality of the ombudsman's work is of a "very high standard", it is aware that customers are currently waiting too long to reach the end of the process
Posted: 30/7/25
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has announced that it received a letter from Capita last week (Friday 25 July), confirming the beginning of union recognition talks
Posted: 30/7/25
Several companies have published their half-year results for 2025, revealing positive returns and varying surplus levels for their pension schemes
Posted: 30/7/2025
The Welsh government has confirmed that it will move forward with changes to employee contributions within the Welsh Firefighters' Pension Scheme, with plans to make and lay amending regulations that will come into force on 1 September 2025
Posted: 30/7/25
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of adults aged 40-65 said that they were not aware of the option to delay taking the state pension beyond the state pension age, analysis of data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed
Posted: 30/7/2025
Just over a fifth (21 per cent) of people do not know where their pension is held, with savers potentially "missing out" on thousands of pounds as a result, a survey from Hargreaves Lansdown has revealed
Posted: 30/7/25
HMRC repaid more than £48m to people who overpaid tax when they flexibly accessed their pensions in Q2 2025, the latest government Pension Schemes Newsletter has revealed
Posted: 30/7/25
Pension scheme trustees should consider taking action now to prepare for pensions dashboards, LCP has said, outlining four key steps that trustees should look to take as the industry moves closer to connection
Posted: 29/7/25
The Essentra UK Pension Scheme has completed a £24m buyout of the Senior Section of the scheme, the group's half-year results have revealed
Posted: 29/7/2025
Callum Conway explores how the Lionesses’ victory exposes the stubborn inequalities women still face - on the pitch, in the workplace, and in retirement
Posted: 29/7/2025
Transport union RMT has cautioned the government against any attempts to “drastically” raise the state pension age beyond 68, warning that this would be met with strong resistance, including coordinated protests from across the trade union movement
Posted: 29/7/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Greenacre Group Limited for failing to pay contributions into a worker’s Nest pension despite deducting contributions from her pay
Posted: 29/7/25
The British Heart Foundation Staff Pension Scheme has completed a £37m buy-in with Royal London, covering the pensions of over 200 members, including 118 pensioners and their dependants and 85 deferred pensioners
Posted: 29/7/2025
Isio has launched a service to help trustees and sponsors of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to choose the right endgame strategy for their scheme
Posted: 28/7/25
Despite recent progress, more than half (60 per cent) of global defined contribution (DC) organisations are concerned that members are not saving enough for retirement, research from the Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI) has revealed
Posted: 28/7/25
The government will need to make "difficult decisions" to rebuild fiscal buffers given the UK's ageing population, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, highlighting the state pension triple lock as one potential area for reform
Posted: 28/7/25
Two-fifths (40 per cent) of people are worried about upcoming changes to pensions and inheritance tax (IHT), set to be introduced from April 2027, according to data from Hargreaves Lansdown (HL)
Posted: 28/7/2025
There is “more that could be done” in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in the risk transfer process, the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has stated, despite numerous developments in this area over recent years
Posted: 28/7/25
The majority of people approaching or in retirement prefer to secure a guaranteed income from their pension, analysis of data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed
Posted: 28/7/2025
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged multiple individuals with fraud-related offences, following a "complex" investigation into the transfer of £75m in pension funds into storage units
Posted: 25/7/25
Three quarters (76 per cent) of professional trustees are experiencing delays in their buyout and wind-up processes following a full scheme buy-in, research from Hymans Robertson has revealed
Posted: 25/7/25
The estimated defined benefit (DB) funding surplus for the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has increased to £10.1bn, as work to explore how the scheme might be put on a more stable footing continues, including consideration of conditional indexation
Posted: 25/7/25
Median total fiduciary management fees have fallen 27 per cent over the past five years, according to IC Select’s annual survey of the fiduciary management market
Posted: 25/7/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 25/7/25
Pension scheme data still requires improvement ahead of the legislative pensions dashboards deadline, as underinvestment has resulted in a 'data debt' for many pension schemes, figures from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have revealed
Posted: 25/7/2025
The Wiltshire Pension Fund (WPF) has selected Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Central as its preferred pooling partner, after Brunel Pension Partnership, its current pooling partner, failed to get the government's green light on its pooling plans
Posted: 25/7/25
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the revival of the Pension Commission, analysis shared by the government and more
Posted: 25/7/25
Self-employed individuals are heading for retirement “dramatically underprepared”, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has said, due to being structurally excluded from the pensions system, as they are not automatically enrolled into a workplace pension
Posted: 24/7/25
The trustee of the Cameron McKenna Final Salary Pension Scheme and the NN Pension Scheme has secured a £112m bulk annuity buy-in with Aviva, insuring the benefits of around 1,000 scheme members
Posted: 24/7/25
More than half (51.6 per cent) of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes view regulation as the greatest risk to their endgame strategy, according to research from Hymans Robertson
Posted: 24/7/25
Defined benefit (DB) pension transfer values rose to £141,000 at the end of June 2025, marking the first month-end increase in XPS Group’s Transfer Value Index since the start of the year, its results have revealed
Posted: 24/7/25
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers Pension Scheme has concluded a £40m buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), covering the pensions of all 200 scheme members
Posted: 24/7/25
DAC Retirement Benefits Scheme has secured a £11m full scheme buy-in with Aviva, securing the benefits of all 15 deferred members and 25 pensioner members
Posted: 24/7/25
MPs have urged the government to commit to a UK-wide, cross-government strategy to tackle pensioner poverty, warning that if it doesn't effectively address this issue, it will not be able to achieve its goal of building a sustainable health and social care service
Posted: 24/7/25
Affordable housing has been identified as a priority asset class for defined contribution (DC) pension investors, with research from Legal & General (L&G) revealing strong saver support for DC pension capital to be invested in affordable housing
Posted: 23/7/25
The Huntsman Pension Scheme has completed a £205m buy-in with M&G, securing the benefits of over 660 retirees and deferred pensioners in the scheme
Posted: 23/7/25
The UK retirement market is at a "critical" inflection point ahead of the 2027 deadline for master trusts to provide a default decumulation solution, Pi Partnership has said
Posted: 23/7/25
Representatives from across the pensions industry attended a roundtable to inform the forthcoming value for money consultation yesterday (22 July), also publicly unveiling the Pound for Pound (£4£) initiative for the first time
Posted: 23/7/25
Aviva has launched a 'flex first, fix later' guided retirement income solution, which combines pension drawdown strategies with a later-life annuity
Posted: 23/7/25
Social housing professionals are broadly supportive of the idea of collective defined contribution (CDC) pensions, research by First Actuarial has found, with a "clear" preference for multi-employer CDC options.
Posted: 22/7/25
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published version 2.1 of the Technical Actuarial Standard 300: Pensions (TAS 300), bringing greater clarity to practitioners and removing provisions from the standard that are no longer needed
Posted: 22/7/25
The government has confirmed that it will bring pensions into the scope of inheritance tax (IHT) from April 2027, although it has made changes in response to industry feedback, deciding that lump sum death in service benefits are not to be brought into scope of the IHT regime after all
Posted: 22/7/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) achieved 27 out of 31 of its corporate priority outcomes in 2024/25, its latest Annual Report and Accounts has revealed
Posted: 22/7/25
Whilst most UK pension schemes are receiving impact reports, very few are reading them closely or using them to guide investment decisions, research from Pensions for Purpose has revealed
Posted: 22/7/25
The total premium from de-risking transactions is anticipated to decrease in the first half of 2025, while the number of transactions is expected to increase, Broadstone’s H1 2025 bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market review has suggested
Posted: 22/7/25
The Apostolic Church Staff Pension Scheme has completed a £4m full scheme buy-in with Just Group, securing the benefits of 51 pensioners and 12 deferred members
Posted: 22/7/25
The government has launched a review into the state pension age, looking at the factors it should consider relating to state pension age and the proportion of adult life currently spent in retirement
Posted: 21/7/25
The gender pension gap has risen to a "stark" 48 per cent, figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have revealed
Posted: 27/7/25
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published its Planning and Preparing for Later Life 2024 report, revealing that more than a third (38 per cent) of UK adults aged 40 to 75 have no savings at all
Posted: 2/7/25
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed that whilst the typical assets under management (AUM) for multi-employer providers (MEPs) are around 100 times that of single-employer trusts (SETs), MEPs are typically less heavily invested in UK assets than SETs
Posted: 21/7/25
Whilst auto-enrolment has brought in a significant number of new savers, the average contribution rate as a percentage of total pay for those saving was lower in 2023 than before auto-enrolment was rolled out in 2012
Posted: 21/7/25
Major UK pension scheme investors have launched the Governance for Growth Investor Campaign (GGIC), aiming to champion savers’ interests through a governance for growth approach, thereby accelerating UK economic dynamism and supporting UK capital markets
Posted: 21/7/25
Industry experts have welcomed the news that the government has revived the Pensions Commission to address pension undersaving concerns, describing the relaunch as a "vital step forward"
Posted: 21/7/25
The government has "revived" the Pensions Commission as part of its work to explore the barriers stopping people from saving enough for retirement, with the commission set to share its final report in 2027
Posted: 21/7/25
The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has urged trustees to consider investing in private markets, after its research found limited involvement from defined contribution (DC) schemes
Posted: 18/7/2025
Now Pensions Ltd (NPL) and Now Pension Trustee Ltd (NPTL) have each been given penalties of £50,000 for failing to correctly report significant events and breaches of law to The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
Posted: 18/7/2025
The pensions adequacy review, expected to be launched on Monday, must not be “nobbled by the Treasury from day one”, but “free to come up with its own recommendations – even if these cost money”, former Pensions Minister and LCP partner, Steve Webb, has warned
Posted: 18/7/2025
A survey assessing several major areas of pensions and retirement has revealed a 'regional confidence gap' in pension attitudes, according to Retirement Review
Posted: 18/7/2025
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a year two update on its three-year corporate plan (2024–2027), warning that the pensions landscape continues to undergo rapid changes amid significant uncertainty in both domestic and global economic conditions
Posted: 18/7/2025
DB schemes are “surging” into hedge fund investment, driven by market volatility and wider macro-economic uncertainty, Aon has claimed
Posted: 18/7/2025
With trillions of pounds in defined benefit (DB) pension assets expected to transfer to insurers in the coming years, FTSE 350 firms could miss out on billions in surplus value if they buy out too early, according to analysis from Barnett Waddingham (BW)
Posted: 18/7/2025
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 18/7/2025
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the Reeve’s Mansion House speech, calls on the government for action on key areas, and more
Posted: 18/7/2025
The inaugural Nederlandse Pensioen Awards, organised by European Pensions, are now officially open for entries
Posted: 17/07/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has closed more cases than ever before in 2024/25, its Annual Report and Accounts have revealed, following the “successful” implementation of its Operating Model Review (OMR) programme
Posted: 17/7/25
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will publish three pensions-related reports on Monday (21 July), prompting experts to suggest the long-awaited pensions adequacy review could be launched the same day
Posted: 17/7/25
Forty-two per cent of the professional trustee appointments to defined benefit (DB) pension schemes were sole trustees by March 2025, an increase from 37 per cent in 2024, according to the latest annual report from Hymans Robertson
Posted: 17/7/2025
Across 2024, £10.9bn has been invested from annuity business directly into UK-focused productive assets, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has reported.
Posted: 17/7/25
Defined benefit (DB) superfunds will play a growing role in the endgames of DB pension schemes, according to analysis from LCP
Posted: 17/7/2025
Around half of FTSE350 companies with defined benefit (DB) schemes could have surpluses on a “low dependency” basis, research from WTW has found
Posted: 17/7/25
Sixty-four is the average age at which people purchase lifetime annuities, while it’s 63 for fixed-term annuities, according to sales data from Standard Life.
Posted: 17/7/2025
The government has published the first-ever Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, outlining a 10-year plan to make the UK the “global location of choice” for financial services firms
Posted: 16/7/2025
The government’s adequacy review on pensions “cannot come soon enough”, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has said, after its UK framework revealed performance in the UK pensions system has “stalled”
Posted: 16/7/25
Celebrating excellence within the pensions industry for another year, the Pensions Age Awards 2026 are now open to entries for all UK pension schemes and provider firms serving pension schemes in the UK
Posted: 16/07/25
More than three quarters (77 per cent) of people who receive financial advice believe their adviser has made them financially better off, Standard Life has revealed, showing the “significant” impact financial advice can have on finances and financial wellbeing
Posted: 16/7/25
Prices rose by more than expected to 3.6 per cent in the year to June, the fastest rate of inflation since January 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Posted: 16/7/2025
The pensions industry has broadly welcomed the financial services sector reforms made in the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech yesterday, 16 July; however, concerns remain around implementation and trustee autonomy
Posted: 16/7/25
The government has confirmed its intention to take forward a proposal for targeted support as part of its joint review with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on the regulatory boundary between financial advice and guidance
Posted: 16/7/2025
Industry experts have expressed their disappointment after Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, failed to announce the launch of the second phase of the pensions review at her Mansion House speech
Posted: 16/7/25
Smart Pension Master Trust has said that it expects to hit £10bn in assets under management by the end of next year, thanks to ongoing acquisitions and growth in new business
Posted: 15/7/25
Industry speculation has continued to grow ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech, with many hopeful that she will announce plans for the second phase of the government’s pension review, focusing on adequacy issues.
Pension organisations have been keen to share their wish lists ahead of the launch of the review, with particular calls for the government to implement the 2017 auto-enrolment reforms, and to consider increasing pension contributions more widely
Pension organisations have been keen to share their wish lists ahead of the launch of the review, with particular calls for the government to implement the 2017 auto-enrolment reforms, and to consider increasing pension contributions more widely
Posted: 15/7/25
Nearly one in four (24 per cent) people don’t know how much they and their employer are paying into their pension, research from Hargreaves Lansdown has found
Posted: 15/7/25
The government and regulators are facing renewed pressure to introduce a 10-day pension switch guarantee, including the launch of a public petition, after research from PensionBee revealed the extent of 'pension purgatory' for millions of savers
Posted: 15/7/2025
The deadline to enter the Irish Pensions Awards has been extended to 25 July 2025, so now is the time to showcase your achievements, innovations, and dedication to excellence in pensions
Posted: 15/7/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has partly upheld a complaint against the trustees of the BIC UK Pension Scheme, after concluding that the complainants had a defence of laches to the recovery of the overpayments that had built up
Posted: 14/7/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Johnson & Johnson Consumer UK Limited after finding that the complainant’s pensionable pay was partly miscalculated
Posted: 14/7/25
The Honda Group UK Pension Scheme has completed an £800m buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society Limited, securing the retirement benefits of over 1,700 retirees and over 3,000 deferred members
Posted: 14/7/25
Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has defended the news that The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has appointed an interim chair, arguing that this "simply reflects time constraints"
Posted: 14/7/25
The government has been urged to rethink its plans to bring pensions into the scope of inheritance tax (IHT) after research from The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA) outlined alternative approaches that would reduce the burden while still achieving comparable outcomes
Posted: 14/7/25
The government has been urged to "flip the script from crisis to confidence" in its upcoming pension adequacy review, which is anticipated to be announced during the Chancellor's Mansion House speech tomorrow (15 July)
Posted: 14/7/2025
There is strong industry backing for the government's plans to introduce default retirement income solutions and make defined benefit (DB) surplus rule changes, research from Sackers has revealed
Posted: 14/7/25
Over 20 of the UK's largest employers have pledged to maximise employee pension value by prioritising retirement outcomes for their workforce, rather than focusing on cost reduction, when selecting or reviewing pension providers
Posted: 14/7/25
UK defined benefit (DB) pension funding levels remained strong in June despite a slight dip amid market volatility, with an aggregate surplus of £175bn at the end of the month, according to PwC’s Low Resilience Index
Posted: 11/7/25
UK defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are "swimming against a tide" of global environmental, social, and governance (ESG) backlash and increasing their allocations to funds with climate targets, according to analysis from Barnett Waddingham (BW)
Posted: 11/7/2025
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) maintained a strong financial position over the past year, as its reserves grew to £14.1bn in 2024/25, its Annual Report and Accounts have revealed
Posted: 11/7/25
Changes are needed to improve access to high-quality, sustainable retirement income solutions as the UK’s pension system continues to evolve, the Investment Association (IA) has said
Posted: 11/7/25
Nest's Annual Report and Accounts have revealed that the group has begun repaying its loan to the government and remains on track to repay the loan in 2038, after returning a profit for the first time in 2024/25
Posted: 11/7/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 11/7/2025
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the second reading of the Pension Schemes Bill, the industry's wish list for the upcoming pension adequacy review, and dashboards updates
Posted: 11/7/25
Taking surplus from a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme doesn’t mean a buyout is “off the table,” according to Legal and General managing director of strategic accounts and new markets, Chris DeMarco
Posted: 11/7/25
Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has reiterated the government's commitment to private sector pensions dashboards, with industry polling revealing that the majority of professionals involved with the dashboards process are considering private sector dashboard opportunities
Posted: 10/7/25
The government should amend the Pension Schemes Bill to introduce mandatory disclosure of employer pension contributions on all job adverts, the Social Market Foundation (SMF) has argued
Posted: 10/7/25
The government has been urged to take “bold action” in its upcoming pension adequacy review, with particular calls for the government to implement the 2017 auto-enrolment review recommendations and build a consensus on what adequacy means.
Industry experts have been sharing their hopes for the review following reports that Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce the launch of the second phase of the pensions review, focusing on pensions adequacy, at her Mansion House speech later this month
Industry experts have been sharing their hopes for the review following reports that Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce the launch of the second phase of the pensions review, focusing on pensions adequacy, at her Mansion House speech later this month
Posted: 10/7/25
The Kingston Council has committed to reviewing all its pension fund investments to identify any holdings in companies allegedly complicit in international law and human rights violations in Palestine and across the world
Posted: 10/7/25
The proportion of schemes with over £1bn now in master trusts has increased to 40 per cent, matching the number of own-trust schemes at this scale for the first time, research from Barnet Waddingham (BW) has revealed
Posted: 10/7/2025
The combined IAS19 funding level for the defined benefit (DB) UK pension schemes of FTSE100 companies remained "strong" at over £50bn, with a funding level of around 118 per cent funding level at the end of June, LCP's latest Pensions Explorer has revealed
Posted: 10/7/25
The government's proposed power to influence investment decisions within defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, outlined in the Pension Schemes Bill, has faced renewed scrutiny after Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, cautioned that such an intervention would not be "appropriate” and require “a lot of heavy lifting"
Posted: 9/7/25
Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has confirmed that the state pension has now successfully completed its connection to the pensions dashboards ecosystem, joining the "hundreds" of pension providers and schemes with more than 20 million pension records that are now available through the dashboards ecosystem.
Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) programme director, Kim Webb, also highlighted broader industry progress on pensions dashboards, confirming that eight volunteer participants (VPs) have now completed the connection process
Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) programme director, Kim Webb, also highlighted broader industry progress on pensions dashboards, confirming that eight volunteer participants (VPs) have now completed the connection process
Posted: 9/7/25
The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) forecast that the triple lock will cost £15.5bn annually by 2029-30, three times higher than initially expected, has intensified calls for the government to conduct a formal review of state pension uprating and its adequacy
Posted: 9/7/25
The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) proposed targeted support regime is a 'positive step' towards closing the planning and advice gap, amid the rise of 'unregulated finfluencers,' according to a survey by Nucleus
Posted: 9/7/2025
Older Brits are delaying retirement due to the rising state pension age (SPA), according to research from the University of Bath, yet many younger workers, particularly women, risk being underprepared by holding onto unrealistic early retirement hopes
Posted: 9/7/25
'Anxious and overwhelmed' savers resoundingly back the concept of targeted support despite fears over data consistency and a lack of trust in the industry, a report from the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement has revealed
Posted: 9/7/2025
Pension schemes, third-party administrators and insurers should “urgently” modernise their admin infrastructure, Mantle has said, after a freedom of information request found a 33 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of complaints submitted to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO)
Posted: 9/7/25
Compensation for a typical defined benefit (DB) pension transfer redress case continued to fall through Q1 2025, as a result of financial conditions softening and rates rising,
Broadstone's DB redress tracker has revealed
Broadstone's DB redress tracker has revealed
Posted: 9/7/2025
Four unnamed defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have completed buy-in transactions with Utmost Life and Pensions so far this year, with a combined total value of £177m
Posted: 9/7/25
Rothesay has completed a £400m eight-year investment facility in the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector
Posted: 9/7/2025
Despite cross-party support for many of the planned changes included in the Pension Schemes Bill, its second reading in the House of Commons was dominated by concerns from MPs
Posted: 8/7/25
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of Gen Z savers are not prioritising saving for retirement and are instead expecting an inheritance to fund their later life, research from Standard Life has revealed
Posted: 8/7/25
Just over a third (34 per cent) of people have a clear idea of how much income they will need in retirement, according to research from Hargreaves Lansdown
Posted: 08/07/2025
The aggregate surplus of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes rose from £221.1bn to £230.5bn in June, after a rise in liability values was outpaced by the growth in DB schemes' estimated asset values, data from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has revealed
Posted: 8/7/25
Four in five (80 per cent) businesses currently offering a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme anticipate changing their provision type in the coming years, research by LawDeb Pensions has revealed
Posted: 8/7/25
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administering authorities may struggle to deliver the changes proposed in the government's access and fairness consultation, as they are already implementing other time-intensive changes, Hymans Robertson has warned
Posted: 8/7/2025
Barnett Waddingham has submitted the first actuarial valuation under the new Defined Benefit (DB) Funding Code, completing the assessment for the Pension and Life Assurance Plan of the Royal Society under the bespoke route
Posted: 7/7//25
Defined contribution (DC) megafunds have the potential to be a “game changer” for pension savers and the UK economy, according to WPI Economics, but only if policymakers and regulators properly manage the broader ecosystem
Posted: 7/7/25
Over 50 per cent of pension schemes now offer members additional retirement support beyond the statutory minimum, analysis from Aon has found, with many schemes looking to provide increased support and flexibility to members at retirement
Posted: 7/7/25
Now Pensions has made its first investment in private markets with an allocation to UK affordable housing, with the new allocation expected to support its commitment as a signatory to the Mansion House Accord
Posted: 7/7/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced plans to work with industry stakeholders, advisers, and professional bodies to develop and test a voluntary net-zero transition plan template that is fit for occupational pension schemes
Posted: 7/7/25
There is strong backing for pension trustees to be at the "heart of decisions" on releasing defined benefit (DB) pension scheme surpluses, a survey from the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has found
Posted: 7/7/25
The aggregate surplus of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes against long-term funding targets remained “extremely positive” at £189bn in June, a fall of £2bn compared to the end of last month, analysis from XPS Group has revealed
Posted: 7/7/2025
The Pension Schemes Bill is set to return to parliament today (7 July) for its second reading, with Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, suggesting that the pace of pension reform is now "ramping up"
Posted: 7/7/25
Almost a third (36 per cent) of schemes said if pricing is equal, member experience would be the deciding factor between choosing between a new market entrant and an established provider, according to a poll by LCP
Posted: 7/7/25
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), alongside other education unions, has welcomed the news that the country's largest multi-academy trust (MAT) will not implement a controversial proposal to give teachers the chance to opt out of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) this September
Posted: 7/7/2025
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce the launch of the second phase of the pensions review, focusing on pensions adequacy, at her Mansion House speech later this month, alongside plans to examine the state pension, reports have suggested
Posted: 4/7/25
Defined benefit (DB) pension scheme funding levels continued to improve in June 2025, according to Broadstone, although further uncertainty and continued market volatility are likely ahead of further tariff announcements from and negotiations with the United States
Posted: 4/7/25
The expected future living standard in retirement provided by defined contribution (DC) savings rose in Q1 of 2025, driven by an increase in expected future returns pre-retirement, Aon’s UK DC pension tracker has revealed
Posted: 4/7/2025
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 4/7/2025
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the FCA's targeted support consultation, key industry rebrands and acquisitions, and more
Posted: 4/7/25
The winners of the 18th annual European Pensions Awards were announced last night at the much-anticipated annual gala dinner at the prestigious London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square
Posted: 4/7/25
Pan-European savings and retirement services group Athora Holding Limited has agreed to acquire Pension Insurance Corporation Group, the parent company of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), for £5.7bn
Posted: 4/7/25
The government should take advantage of the Pension Schemes Bill to abolish the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) administration levy and permit the PPF to cover its operating costs through its own fund and “substantial” surplus, Pension UK has said
Posted: 3/7/25
Individuals with assets of more than £250,000 think they will need a pension pot of £663,308 to achieve a ‘comfortable retirement’, research by Saltus has revealed, despite the firm finding that, in most cases, a pot of at least £1.5m is needed
Posted: 3/7/25
Sophie Smith looks at the struggles women face in pensions, both as savers and as employees within the industry itself, and the need to provide support to all when facing difficult times
Posted: 3/7/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Quality Villas Ltd after finding that the company failed to pay contributions into a worker’s Nest pension despite deducting contributions from her pay over 18 months
Posted: 03/07/2025
Employees and self-employed people with disabilities and long-term health conditions are "largely" less confident about having a comfortable retirement, a study from Barnett Waddingham has revealed
Posted: 3/7/25
European life and pensions consolidator, Chesnara, has announced that it has agreed to acquire HSBC Life (UK) from HSBC Bank plc for a total consideration of £260m
Posted: 3/07/25
Aegon has announced that it will introduce new pension tracing and consolidation services for its master trust clients, describing this as a "significant milestone" in its ongoing collaboration with The Pension Lab
Posted: 3/7/25
Pension schemes are increasingly shifting their focus to de-risking, as improved funding levels drive change in fiduciary management priorities, research by Quantum Advisory has revealed
Posted: 2/7/25
Pension-finding platform Raindrop recovered £218m in lost pension pots for customers during H1 2025, a 110 per cent increase from the £104m retrieved during the same period last year
Posted: 2/7/2025
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has rebranded as Pensions UK, as it launches an "ambitious" new strategy outlining its ambitions for the next decade and beyond.
In its report, 2030 Ready, Pensions UK said that the pensions sector is entering a "defining period" of structural change, being reshaped by consolidation, the focus on investment in growth, and an urgent spotlight on the need for people to save more
In its report, 2030 Ready, Pensions UK said that the pensions sector is entering a "defining period" of structural change, being reshaped by consolidation, the focus on investment in growth, and an urgent spotlight on the need for people to save more
Posted: 2/7/25
The West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF) has committed £25m to the cornerstone portfolio of Rebalance Earth’s forthcoming nature-based infrastructure fund
Posted: 2/7/2025
Despite recent market volatility, expected redress payments arising from defined benefit (DB) transfer advice remained broadly stable during the second quarter of 2025, according to First Actuarial’s Redress Tracker
Posted: 2/7/25
The government has been urged to take "decisive" action and introduce a four-point pension guarantee, after the Institute for Fiscal Studies' (IFS) pension review suggested that "serious problems" remain for the next generation of pensioners
Posted: 2/7/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced plans to launch a Pensions Data and Digital Working Group, describing it as a cross-sector initiative to bring pensions into the digital, data and technology age
Posted: 1/7/2025
A new fintech platform enabling members to access their pension savings through a debit card or digital wallet with an app interface has launched in response to concerns that there is a clear gap between how pensions are administered and how people actually live
Posted: 1/7/25
Nearly half (46 per cent) of working-age Brits don't think the state pension will exist by the time they retired or aren't sure if it will, a survey from Hargreaves Lansdown has revealed, despite broader industry research showing that the vast majority view it as an ‘entitlement’
Posted: 1/7/2025
More than half (62 per cent) of investment firms are now considering Long-Term Asset Funds (LTAFs) or have one in development, despite only 14 per cent of these firms have actually launched an LTAF in the defined contribution (DC) market, WTW research has found
Posted: 1/7/25
More pension funds, charities and companies are now looking at Bitcoin as a long-term, strategic asset, with in-built scarcity and increasing clarity around regulation meaning that Bitcoin is entering a "new era" of institutional interest, a report from Cartwright has suggested
Posted: 1/7/25
The Molins UK Pension Fund has completed a £249m buy-in deal with Aviva, securing the benefits of over 3,500 members of the scheme
Posted: 1/7/25
The Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) has published its latest Mortality Projections Model, with the new model set to lead to a "significant" increase in liabilities for pension schemes that choose to use the core model “out-of-the-box”
Posted: 30/6/2025
Using a lifetime individual savings account (LISA) to save for retirement is working well for self-employed people, although changes are needed to ensure they are treated the same way as other pension savings products, the Treasury Committee has found
Posted: 30/6/25
Further pension reforms could see small firms raise prices, cut jobs, or slash profits, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned, urging the government to explicitly examine how workplace pension changes impact small employers
Posted: 306/25
Industry experts have welcomed the Financial Conduct Authority's plans to allow firms to offer targeted support to help consumers with their pensions and investment decisions, suggesting that the plans could be a "gamechanger" for many
Posted: 30/6/25
The UK defined benefit (DB) pension scheme bulk annuity market is seeing its best pricing for over two years, according to Aon
Posted: 30/6/2025
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on plans to allow firms to offer targeted support and provide suggestions to groups of consumers with common characteristics, in what has been hailed as a "once-in-a-generation" advice change
Posted: 30/6/25
PCS members working for pensions administrator MyCSP have announced they will take six weeks’ strike action starting on 7 July in support of their campaign for full union recognition
Posted: 30/6/2025
If the government does not “get behind” the sustainability transition, then progress simply won’t happen, Trustee Sustainability Working Group (TSWG) founder and chair, Bobby Riddaway, has warned
Posted: 27/6/25
The government’s Pension Schemes Bill could "reshape" the UK pensions landscape, according to Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) deputy director of policy, Joe Dabrowski
Posted: 27/6/25
With only two weeks remaining until the entry deadline for the Irish Pensions Awards 2025, now is the time to showcase your achievements, innovations, and dedication to excellence in pensions
Posted: 27/06/25
The Milliken Industrials Limited Pension Plan has completed a £44m buy-in with Royal London, securing the benefits of around 500 members
Posted: 27/6/2025
Seven out of the 14 remaining voluntary participants (VPs) are “very close” to finishing their connection journey to the pensions dashboard ecosystem, including the state pension team, Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) principal, Chris Curry, has confirmed
Posted: 27/6/25
Legal & General (L&G) has announced that it will be providing defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees and employers with the capability to transfer surplus funds into defined contribution (DC) scheme arrangements, including the L&G Mastertrust
Posted: 27/6/25
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including news from the Pensions Age Northern Conference, research on financial literacy and confidence, and government policy updates
Posted: 27/6/2025
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 27/6/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is preparing to launch a “big initiative” in the next few months focused on trusteeship strategy, including the role of member-nominated (MNTs) trustees on commercial master trust boards, TPR interim executive director of market oversight, Julian Lyne, has revealed
Posted: 27/6/25
Royal London has published its first Climate Transition Plan, which outlines four key areas of action to support its climate commitments
Posted: 26/6/2025
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged asset managers and the investment industry to play their part in the "pensions revolution" by bringing forward innovations and new investment products that deliver long-term value
Posted: 26/6/25
The number of large master trust sections in the defined contribution (DC) pension sector rose by 12 per cent in 2025, according to Barnett Waddingham’s latest Large DC Schemes Analysis
Posted: 26/6/2025
Lifetime annuity rates have surged to their highest levels of the decade so far, according to the Standard Life Annuity Rates Tracker, reaching 7.72 per cent for a healthy 65-year-old.
Posted: 26/6/2025
Unnecessary complexity, excessive paperwork, and discouragement from existing providers are deterring savers from transferring their pensions, research from Penny Pensions has revealed
Posted: 26/6/25
The pension contribution gap between men and women aged 30 - 45 has increased by an average of 3 per cent since 2022, data from Aviva has revealed
Posted: 26/6/2025
Three pension schemes sponsored by Baker Hughes have completed simultaneous buy-ins with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), worth a combined £900m
Posted: 26/6/25
Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) Chair Debbie Abrahams has written to the Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, to request further insight on several issues the WPC is investigating as part of its pensioner poverty inquiry, including indexation of pension compensation for pre-1997 benefits
Posted: 26/6/25
The government has announced that it is considering whether to update the current rules surrounding pension schemes' sustainability reporting, confirming that it will review the 2021 Climate Change Reporting Regulations this year as part of this.
The update was one of a number of measures announced by the government today, as it shared three consultations, which form part of the first phase of its work to modernise the UK’s sustainable finance framework
The update was one of a number of measures announced by the government today, as it shared three consultations, which form part of the first phase of its work to modernise the UK’s sustainable finance framework
Posted: 25/6/25
The number of working people who believe they will never be able to afford to retire is on the rise, according to research by Wealth at Work, with the increased cost of living cited as a key factor
Posted: 25/6/2025
The defined contribution (DC) section of Schroders Retirement Benefits Scheme (SRBS) has allocated £48m, 20 per cent of the default growth fund, to the Schroders Capital Climate+ Long Term Asset Fund (LTAF) as it looks to enhance its private markets exposure
Posted: 25/6/25
Retirement optimism in the UK is slowly increasing, but there is still a long way to go, as over half (52 per cent) of Brits are not optimistic about being prepared for retirement, research from State Street Global Advisers has revealed
Posted: 25/6/25
Trafalgar House has launched an online budget modeller in light of the latest update to The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s (PLSA) Retirement Living Standards (RLS)
Posted: 25/6/25
Defined benefit (DB) pension transfer values fell to a new month-end low in May 2025, according to XPS Group's Value Index, marking a third consecutive monthly record low
Posted: 25/6/2025
Nearly three quarters (70 per cent) of defined benefit (DB) schemes believe there is a barrier to progressing toward endgame, according to LCP’s Pensions Industry Report, with around a third citing data quality and benefit issues as their main concerns
Posted: 24/6/25
The Pensions Research Accountants Group (PRAG) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the draft Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), Financial Reports of Pension Schemes 2025
Posted: 24/6/25
Pension funds could "revive" UK markets and growth at no cost to the government by investing 25 per cent of new contributions in UK growth assets in exchange for “generous” tax reliefs, Baroness Ros Altmann has said
Posted: 24/6/25
People who pay rent in retirement are 'substantially' less likely to achieve the minimum standard of living in retirement, according to an analysis by Hymans Robertson
Posted: 24/6/2025
The government has been urged to adopt a relative pension adequacy measure, rather than a 'pounds and pence approach', with analysis from Hargreaves Lansdown suggesting that relative measures better reflect the income needs of different groups
Posted: 24/6/25
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign has secured a "vital safeguard" for its legal case against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), as the government agreed to a 'costs capping order' that would limit their liability for legal costs to £60,000
Posted: 24/6/2025
The longer people wait to start saving for retirement, the worse off they could be, Standard Life has said, after its research found that delaying saving by five years in a person's twenties could mean £40,000 less in retirement
Posted: 24/6/24
Concerns around gig economy workers' pension savings have continued to grow ahead of Glastonbury Festival, with PensionBee chief business officer UK, Lisa Picardo, warning that many workers making the event happen will earn nothing towards their retirement
Posted: 24/6/25
Over a quarter (27 per cent) of 45–54-year-olds say they have no understanding “at all” of pension terminology, research from Get Britain Pension Ready, a campaign by Annuity Ready, has revealed
Posted: 23/6/25
Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) council member, Matt Masters, discusses the need for the government to act sooner rather than later to address pension adequacy concerns
Posted: 23/6/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has partly upheld a complaint against ReAssure due to the "significant" distress and inconvenience its maladministration caused the complainant
Posted: 23/6/25
European pension administration technology provider, Festina Finance, has announced its expansion into the UK market, confirming that the group is now fully operational in the UK
Posted: 23/6/25
The government has written to the departments responsible for the McCloud remedy, requesting details of their plans to issue remaining remediable service statements and remediable pension savings statements to all affected members.
Providing an update in the House of Commons, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, emphasised that whilst there have been delays, "delivering the remedy to more than 3 million affected scheme members is also an intensive administrative challenge"
Providing an update in the House of Commons, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, emphasised that whilst there have been delays, "delivering the remedy to more than 3 million affected scheme members is also an intensive administrative challenge"
Posted: 23/6/25
Less than two-fifths (39 per cent) of people agree they have a clear understanding of their retirement options, according to research from Hargreaves Lansdown, which revealed ongoing confusion around retirement planning
Posted: 23/6/25
Two unnamed schemes have completed a multi-scheme buy-in worth £67m with Just Group, securing the benefits of all members of the scheme, including 675 pensioners and dependants, as well as 256 deferred members
Posted: 23/6/2025
The Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to maintain the base rate of 4.25 per cent is expected to bring “welcome stability” to those planning for retirement, supporting annuity rates and competitive savings products
Posted: 20/6/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has confirmed that it is liaising with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on the impact of a 2024 Court of Appeal decision, which could mean that some individuals will not have access to any ombudsman
Posted: 20/6/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 20/6/25
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including further discussion of the Pension Schemes Bill and updates from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s (PLSA) Local Authority conference
Posted: 20/6/25
The Pensions Ombudsman's (TPO) pilot Pensions Dishonesty Unit (PDU) has come to an end, after broader government funding constraints meant that funding for the PDU ended on 31 March 2025
Posted: 19/6/24
Changes in the pensions market, alongside regulatory reforms, are set to drive sustained demand for advisory and administration services, XPS Pensions Group has said, as it latest accounts revealed further growth in its total group revenue over the past year
Posted: 19/6/25
HMRC has announced a further policy change to VAT deduction on the management of pension funds, confirming that it will no longer view investment costs as being subject to dual use
Posted: 19/6/25
Increasing numbers of local authority pension funds are expected to reduce their contributions in light of funding surpluses, Financial Times contributing editor, Toby Nangle, has predicted
Posted: 19/6/25
Independent schools should carefully consider if the benefits of the Teacher’s Pension Scheme (TPS) and Scottish Teacher's Pension Scheme (STPS) outweigh the potential risks of staff redundancies or staff pay cuts, Hymans Robertson has said
Posted: 19/6/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged trustees to take practical steps to prepare for the Pension Schemes Bill, confirming that it will look to bridge the gap between the introduction of new duties in the bill and the ‘here and now’ need to govern schemes well
Posted: 19/6/25
The Government Actuary's Department’s (GAD) triennial review of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds valuations will focus on funds that are releasing surplus most slowly or quickly, and those implementing non-standard approaches, GAD actuary, Garth Foster, has stated
Posted: 18/6/25
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) independent governance review requirements could well have “teeth” that “bite”, meaning that compliance must be more than just a “tick-box exercise”, South Yorkshire Pensions Authority director, George Graham, has warned
Posted: 18/6/25
With Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pools set to grow further in size and responsibility as a result of recent government reforms, it cannot become a case of ‘us versus them’, the local authority funds versus the pools, Hymans Robertson has warned
Posted: 18/6/25
The combined IAS19 funding level for the defined benefit (DB) UK pension schemes of FTSE100 companies remained strong at over £50bn amid recent government and regulatory announcements on DB plans, LCP’s Pensions Explorer has revealed
Posted: 18/6/25
An increase in savings into pension funds may increase the amount of investment available for productive assets, the Financial Services Regulation Committee has found, although concerns around mandating pension fund investments remain
Posted: 18/6/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Cru Construction (Services) Ltd for failing to pay contributions into a worker’s Nest pension despite deducting contributions from his pay
Posted: 18/6/24
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) local investments may slow down as a result of greater consolidation, Foresight Group partner and co-head of private equity, Matthew Smith, has warned
Posted: 18/6/25
Six industry volunteer participants have now completed their dashboards connection journey, with a further six past the most ‘tricky part’ of integration, Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) principal, Chris Curry, has confirmed
Posted: 18/6/25
The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) has committed to investing around £400m, approximately 5 per cent of the fund's current value, in climate solutions by 2030
Posted: 18/06/25
There is a “significant” gender divide in how people perceive the pensions industry, Trafalgar House has said, after its research showed that 43.1 per cent of men rated their trust in pensions at 6 or above, compared to 33.5 per cent of women
Posted: 18/6/25
More than half (57 per cent) of UK gig economy workers can't afford to save into a pension, research from PensionBee has revealed, prompting 'urgent calls' for a universal pension system
Posted: 17/6/25
The trustee of the Church Mission Society (CMS) Pension Scheme has completed a deal with Clara Pensions, marking the first superfund transaction using Clara's 'connected covenant' structure, as well as the first deal involving a not-for-profit sponsor
Posted: 17/6/25
Simpler pension transfers took an average of 11 days to complete in the 12 months to 31 March 2025, despite this being one of the busiest times for the industry ahead of the tax year end, analysis from Origo has revealed
Posted: 17/6/25
The government should commit to undertaking a cross-party review to agree on what an adequate income in later life should be, Independent Age has said
Posted: 17/6/25
Natwest Cushon has announced plans to invest in natural capital, with its Sustainable Investment Strategy committing to a 2 per cent allocation to the Aviva Investors Carbon Removal Fund
Posted: 17/6/25
A default approach could help close the retirement savings gap for self-employed people, according to research by Nest Insight
Posted: 16/6/25
Cost-of-living pressures continue to impact consumers’ approach to pension savings, according to the annual Financial Resilience Report published by Royal London
Posted: 16/06/25
The Financial Fairness Trust has called for a range of improvements to the government’s Pensions Scheme Bill, with an aim to help lower earners
Posted: 16/06/25
The Cabinet Office has been urged to fix persistent service issues ahead of Capita’s takeover of the Civil Service Pension Scheme’s (CSPS) administration, after a National Audit Office (NAO) report found it failed to hold MyCSP to account or drive improvements through its contract
Posted: 16/6/25
A new cross-sector initiative has officially launched aimed at providing impartial, expert insight as defined benefit (DB) pension schemes face crucial endgame decisions at an “unprecedented pace”
Posted: 16/6/25
Brunel Pension Partnership chief responsible investment officer, Faith Margaret Ward, has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2025, alongside former Legal & General Investment Management chief executive officer, Michelle Scrimgeour, and other industry figures
Posted: 16/6/25
The McGregor Construction (Highlands) Limited Pension Plan has completed a £7m buy-in with Just Group, securing the benefits of 66 pensioners and eight deferred members at Pension Protection Fund+ (PPF) levels
Posted: 16/6/25
Phoenix Group’s think tank, Phoenix Insights, has rebranded to Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement as part of its ambition to help people achieve long-term financial security
Posted: 16/6/25
An end-to-end service aimed at helping small pension schemes with risk transfer and investment challenges has been launched by Hymans Robertson
Posted: 13/06/25
Market volatility and economic uncertainty are leading investors towards active management as a means to strengthen portfolio resilience, according to Schroders’ Global Investor Insights survey
Posted: 13/06/25
The majority of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes say it is "still too early to say" whether the use of surplus proposals will affect their strategy, according to a poll carried out by LCP
Posted: 13/06/25
Reforms to address small pot issues must strike the "right balance" between improving value for members and creating further autonomy for the government over pension policy in this area, Sackers partner, Jacqui Reid, has said
Posted: 13/6/2513/613/6
Three quarters (75 per cent) of pension professionals have identified underpins and 'better of' tests as the most challenging or complex benefits to simplify, according to research from the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP)
Posted: 13/6/25
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the conflict between the government growth agenda and fiduciary duty, updates from regulators and government as well as several pieces of important research
Posted: 13/6/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 13/6/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) chief executive, Nausicaa Delfas, has called on the pensions industry to seize the opportunity presented by the Pension Schemes Bill to raise standards and deliver better outcomes for savers
Posted: 12/6/25
Fiduciary managers (FMs) are still recovering from the financial shocks of recent years, and long-term investment performance remains underwhelming, according to a report from Barnett Waddingham
Posted: 12/06/25
The average pension income for a carer has fallen to 49 per cent of the national average, research by Now Pensions has revealed, down from 55 per cent in 2020 highlighting a widening savings gap
Posted: 12/6/25
More than half (54 per cent) of savers don’t know how much their employer is contributing to their pension funds, while 43 per cent do know how much their contributions are, according to research by Scottish Widows
Posted: 12/06/25
A decade after the introduction of pension freedoms, fewer than half (47 per cent) of UK savers said they were aware of the options available to them at retirement, and just 27 per cent reported that they understood the reforms and their implications, according to new research by AKG
Posted: 12/06/25
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has released its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy for 2025–2028, outlining plans to further integrate equity across the organisation and continue its commitment to being an inclusive employer
Posted: 12/6/25
Broadstone has announced the acquisition of ExactVAL, aimed at strengthening its capabilities in the life insurance and bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market, for an undisclosed amount
Posted: 12/6/25
The MGN Pension Scheme has completed a c. £150m pensioner buy-in with Just Group, securing the benefits of around 1,300 in-payment members
Posted: 12/6/25
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has delivered her Spending Review, announcing an expansion of the British Business Bank’s (BBB) financial capacity and a reversal of planned cuts to winter fuel payments
Posted: 11/6/25
Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are facing "growing tensions" between political pressure to invest in UK assets and their fiduciary duty to act in members’ best interests, the DC Investment Forum (DCIF) has warned
Posted: 11/6/25
The Department for Education has confirmed “significant” progress in clearing the backlog of pension transfer requests within the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), following the implementation of key reforms in April 2025
Posted: 11/6/25
The majority of pension savers are not confident they can afford to retire, according to research from Hargreaves Lansdown, which found that 36 per cent of people surveyed are confident they can afford to retire
Posted: 11/6/25
The Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has reached out to the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) to discuss the Pension Schemes Bill
Posted: 11/6/25
UK pension scheme trustees should take a more active role in holding insurers accountable for member outcomes and sustainability approaches when considering buyout transactions, Zedra has said
Posted: 11/6/25
TPT Retirement Solutions has launched a new defined contribution (DC) decumulation solution designed to simplify retirement income planning for savers
Posted: 11/6/25
The average time to buyout for a FTSE350 defined benefit (DB) pension scheme fell to an all-time low of 3.6 years in May 2025, according to Barnett Waddingham’s DB End Gauge Index
Posted: 10/6/25
The Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) 7800 Index for May painted a positive picture of defined benefit (DB) schemes, as the aggregate surplus of the 4,969 schemes in the PPF 7800 Index increased by £18.6bn, rising from £202.5bn to £221.1bn
Posted: 10/6/25
Just over a third (35 per cent) of salaried workers are enrolled in their company’s salary exchange scheme, Scottish Widows has found, warning that the rest could be missing out on a pensions pot boost potentially worth tens of thousands of pounds
Posted: 10/6/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has confirmed that it will continue to increase its operational efficiency in order to address issues around growing caseloads and wait times, targeting a further 4 per cent year-on-year improvement target for 2025/26
Posted: 10/6/25
Just over three quarters (76 per cent) of defined benefit (DB) pension trustees are intending to adopt the new statutory override to give themselves the power to distribute surplus, research from XPS Group has revealed
Posted: 10/6/25
The government has confirmed that it will continue work on broader pension reform issues alongside the work outlined on the pensions roadmap, suggesting that some of this work could be seen before the end of the five-year timeline mapped out
Posted: 9/6/25
Three-quarters (76 per cent) of people over 50 believe risk appetite is an important factor when making decisions about their pension, and two out of five (41 per cent) expect to have a lower risk tolerance as they approach retirement, according to research from Standard Life
Posted: 9/6/25
The majority (83 per cent) of insurers and insurance asset managers believe the risk profiles of their investment portfolios will increase in the year ahead, with 20 per cent expecting a dramatic increase, research by Ortec Finance revealed
Posted: 9/6/25
The UK is facing a “serious retirement readiness gap”, according to research from Barnett Waddingham, which found that men are likely to live four years longer than they expect, while women are underestimating their lifespan by a “staggering” seven years
Posted: 9/6/25
Most pensions savers do not know their retirement funds are invested in the markets, according to research from Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), which found that 40 per cent of people surveyed know that their pension was invested in the stock market
Posted: 9/6/25
Mercer, a Marsh McLennan business, has reached an agreement to acquire the UK investment advisory firm Fundhouse for an undisclosed amount
Posted: 9/6/25
The government has outlined an indicative timeline for the next five years of pension reform, confirming that consultations and regulations for many of the initiatives included in the Pension Schemes Bill won’t be launched until 2027 at the earliest
Posted: 6/6/25
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has launched a consultation on the interest rates applied to compensation awards
Posted: 6/6/25
Concerns around the potential for the government to mandate pension investments have continued, with industry experts warning that certain details within the Pension Schemes Bill could be seen as "introducing mandation by the back door”
Posted: 6/6/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 6/6/2025
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the Pension Schemes Bill, updates from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association's (PLSA) revised Retirement Living Standards
Posted: 6/6/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced its intention to launch a new strategy to drive up standards of trusteeship, aimed at bringing trusteeship into line with other professions and corporate governance standards
Posted: 6/6/25
Defined benefit (DB) funding levels improved throughout May, while markets continued to be volatile amid tariff uncertainty, Broadstone's Sirius Index has revealed
Posted: 6/6/2025
Industry experts have suggested that there will be "collective sigh of relief" after the government confirmed that it will introduce legislation to deal with issues arising from the Virgin Media judgment
Posted: 6/6/25
The vast majority (88 per cent) of individuals who had changed jobs were not informed or did not recall being informed about their pension during their exit interviews, a survey from Penny has revealed
Posted: 5/6/2025
Industry experts have warned that "time is running out" to address pension adequacy issues, with the latest updates from government suggesting that phase two of the pension review will be launched "in the coming months"
Posted: 5/6/25
The Grant Thornton Pensions Fund has secured a £275m buy-in with Royal London, securing the benefits of around 2,200 members
Posted: 5/6/25
The government has confirmed that whilst the formal Dashboards Available Point (DAP) provision does not apply to the government-backed MoneyHelper pensions dashboard, it will still take the same approach, including giving due notice before launch
Posted: 5/6/25
The Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has warned that calls to use the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) surplus to fund inflationary increases are not as “straightforward” as suggested
Posted: 5/6/25
Industry experts have broadly welcomed the Pension Schemes Bill, praising its emphasis on consolidation, value for money (VfM), and long-term reform, although concerns remain over the implementation of measures within the bill and timing.
The Pensions Schemes Bill provides further updates on a number of upcoming reforms, including the value for money framework, plans to address small pots, and regulations aimed at assisting individuals in managing their pension pots throughout retirement
The Pensions Schemes Bill provides further updates on a number of upcoming reforms, including the value for money framework, plans to address small pots, and regulations aimed at assisting individuals in managing their pension pots throughout retirement
Posted: 5/6/25
The government has published the new Pension Schemes Bill, estimating that around 20 million people could stand to benefit from the reforms outlined.
The bill provides further insight into a number of the government's upcoming reforms, including the value-for-money framework and plans to introduce increased flexibility for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to release surplus funds safely
The bill provides further insight into a number of the government's upcoming reforms, including the value-for-money framework and plans to introduce increased flexibility for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to release surplus funds safely
Posted: 5/6/25
Callum Conway looks at the events leading up to the announcement that cuts to winter fuel payments would be 'revisited' and evaluates the impact of potential policy changes on pensioners
Posted: 4/6/2025
Annuity rates are at their highest level in 16 years, according to recent data from Canada Life, although many consumers remain reluctant to switch providers or shop around for the best deal
Posted: 4/6/2025
UK pension schemes are undergoing a structural shift in asset allocation, with a growing focus on private markets, productive finance, and long-term diversification, research by the Pension Policy Institute (PPI) has suggested
Posted: 4/6/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has granted a modification order to the trustee of the Littlewoods Pensions Scheme, which will enable the surplus remaining at the end of winding-up to be paid to the sponsor
Posted: 4/6/25
Industry experts have raised concerns over the updated definition of stewardship in the Financial Reporting Council's UK Stewardship Code 2026, with particular disappointment around the removal of direct reference to the environment and society
Posted: 4/6/25
More than half of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have been actively considering sharing surplus funds, research from LCP has revealed
Posted: 3/6/2025
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published guidance for trustees and employers of defined benefit (DB) and DB/defined contribution (DC) hybrid schemes on long-term objectives and ongoing scheme management
Posted: 3/6/25
Millennials are the most "in the dark" generation when it comes to pensions, research from InvestEngine has found, with just over half (51 per cent) admitting they rarely think about their pension
Posted: 3/6/25
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against S Ltd after the company was unable to provide any legal justification for refusing to transfer the complainant's benefits or a reasonable explanation for the delay in processing the transfer
Posted: 3/6/25
The LGBTQ+ community is "crying out" for retirement guidance, advice, and support, according to research from Barnett Waddingham, which showed that although the vast majority (93 per cent) would seek advice for retirement, nearly a third would be unsure who to trust
Posted: 3/6/2025
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published the UK Stewardship Code 2026, which includes a number of updates designed to support long-term sustainable value creation while also "significantly" reducing the reporting burden for signatories
Posted: 3/6/25
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has updated its Retirement Living Standards (RLS), revealing that whilst the cost of the minimum retirement lifestyle has decreased, the costs associated with moderate and comfortable lifestyles have increased
Posted: 3/6/25
Actuaries do not always adequately explain benefit changes to members, research from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has suggested, prompting calls for an increased focus on ‘clear communication'
Posted: 2/6/2025
Railpen has increased its stewardship efforts in response to what it views as a growing “race to the bottom” among companies and policymakers on financially material issues, including climate change, workforce practices, and shareholder rights
Posted: 2/6/25
The vast majority of UK pension savers (83 per cent) have “no idea” what they’re paying in pension fees in either pound or percentage terms, according to research from Interactive Investor, which has prompted calls for providers to be more transparent
Posted: 2/6/2025
The government has been warned against any changes to salary sacrifice arrangements, with the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) arguing that any changes to the current set up could see the extra tax burden hit members and their savings "very selectively"
Posted: 2/6/25
The government should "urgently reaffirm" its commitment to enabling a thriving market of private sector pensions dashboards, the Association of British Insurers has said, warning that relying on a single, state-owned dashboard could fall short of industry expectations
Posted: 2/6/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published its final response to its Statement of Strategy consultation, confirming its plans to launch a 'submit a scheme valuation' digital service, which trustees will use to complete and submit their Statement of Strategy
Posted: 30/05/25
Industry experts are generally supportive of the government's policy direction and desired outcomes for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), but concerns remain over the “overly ambitious” timing of delivering and implementing the changes
Posted: 30/05/25
Government plans to allow employers to extract cash from defined benefit (DB) pension schemes could put millions of people's pensions at risk and should be reconsidered, a new campaign group has warned
Posted: 30/5/2025
The London Waste Limited Pension Scheme has completed a £22m buy-in with Royal London, securing the retirement benefits for around 200 members
Posted: 30/5/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 30/5/2025
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the much-anticipated final Pension Investment Review report and the government’s response to the consultation on options for defined benefit (DB) schemes
Posted: 30/05/25
Industry experts have welcomed the government's plans to lift restrictions on how pension scheme surpluses are used
Posted: 29/05/2025
Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has said he is “not anticipating using” the backstop set to be introduced in the Pension Schemes Bill that would allow the government to set binding asset allocation targets for pension schemes.
Speaking to Pensions Age about the final Pension Investment Review report, Bell stated that he was “confident” the government would not need to mandate
Speaking to Pensions Age about the final Pension Investment Review report, Bell stated that he was “confident” the government would not need to mandate
Posted: 29/05/25
The government has said it will share further information on the timings and terms of reference for phase two of the pension review in "due course", after it failed to provide updates on the next step for the second phase in its final Pension Investment Review report
Posted: 29/5/25
Pathlines, in collaboration with Guiide and Invesco, has launched a new tool to provide non-advised defined contribution (DC) pension savers with guided support to help them self-manage their drawdowns
Posted: 29/05/2025
London CIV has become the first Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool to announce its intention to work with the British Business Bank on the launch of the British Growth Partnership
Posted: 29/5/25
Industry experts have welcomed the clarity provided by the final Pension Investment Review report, praising the focus on value for money and consolidation, although there is widespread concern over the "unprecedented" move towards mandating investment
Posted: 29/05/2025
Just over one in ten (12 per cent) finance leaders in companies with a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme are currently making use of a corporate sole trustee (CST), despite widespread familiarity with the role, research from LawDeb has revealed
Posted: 29/5/25
The government has published its response to the consultation on options for defined benefit (DB) schemes, confirming that it is looking to make changes to DB surplus rules, and is also continuing to consider a consolidator for DB schemes, run by the Pensions Protection Fund
Posted: 29/5/25
The government has shared the final Pension Investment Review report, revealing that it will take a reserve power in the Pension Schemes Bill to set binding asset allocation targets, as it moves ahead with plans to double the number of UK pension megafunds by 2030
Posted: 29/5/25
The majority (93 per cent) of UK businesses with closed defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes larger than £500m plan to request access to surplus once government rules are amended, research from Brightwell has revealed
Posted: 28/5/25
Smart Pension has announced plans to invest up to 15 per cent of its flagship fund into private markets, as it looks to support the UK government's efforts to encourage investment into national infrastructure and private companies
Posted: 28/5/25
The Living Wage Foundation has announced that the Living Pension accreditation has been extended to include defined benefit (DB) pension schemes
Posted: 28/5/25
Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes reported mixed returns over Q1 2025, as strategies with a greater allocation to equities saw weaker performance than more diverse strategies, which provided some downside protection, Isio has revealed
Posted: 28/5/2025
Nearly half (45 per cent) of pension professionals have indicated that about half of the schemes they are advising on a potential transaction expect a material surplus of 5 per cent or more, research from the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has suggested
Posted: 28/5/25
Defined benefit (DB) pension transfer values hit a historic low of £137,000 in mid-April 2025, according to XPS Group's Value Index, marking the first time the index has dropped below £140,000 since its inception
Posted: 28/5/25
The Morrisons Retirement Saver Plan has completed a £270m buy-in with Aviva, securing the retirement benefits of over 32,000 deferred members of the RSP Section of the scheme
Posted: 28/5/25
Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of the profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies with a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme so far in Q2 have cited the direct or indirect impact of tariffs and resulting recent market disruption, EY-Parthenon’s latest report has revealed
Posted: 28/5/25
Consolidating pension funds has the potential to reduce fees and expand access to diverse asset classes, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, but warned it would be "important to guard against possible unintended side effects", including reduced competition
Posted: 27/05/25
The government has published research commissioned by HMRC, which asked questions about attitudes to salary sacrifice and tested employer reactions to three different ways in which the benefit could be 'hypothetically' cut back
Posted: 27/05/2025
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is preparing to ballot its members at the pensions administration firm MyCSP to decide whether they should take strike action
Posted: 27/05/25
One in six (16 per cent) of UK adults use gut instinct or guesswork to gauge their retirement savings target, research from Standard Life’s Retirement Voice report has revealed
Posted: 27/05/2025
Six in 10 people ‘don’t know’ their pension is invested, according to a survey by Opinium, on behalf of Hargreaves Lansdown (HL)
Posted: 27/05/2025
Phoenix Group has taken steps to make it easier to change its name, with reports indicating that it is planning to switch to the Standard Life brand, a company it acquired in 2018
Posted: 23/05/25
Now is the time for defined benefit (DB) sponsors to reflect on their endgame strategies and take decisive action, Hymans Robertson has said, as surpluses become increasingly common and legislative change looms with the upcoming Pension Schemes Bill
Posted: 23/05/25
Pension credit application processing times peaked at 87 working days in December 2024, significantly above the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) 50-working-day target, according to a freedom of information (FOI) request from Quilter
Posted: 23/05/25
Railpen has announced the sale of its third-party pension administration business to Broadstone, covering over 20 pension schemes, and more than 110,000 UK members
Posted: 23/05/25
A petition calling for Hertfordshire Local Government Pension Scheme (HLGPS) to divest from companies “complicit in war crimes, apartheid and occupation” has been backed by more than 1,500 signatures
Posted: 23/05/2025
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 23/05/2025
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including updates from the regulators, the launch of an Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consultation, and research on the UK government's growth agenda
Posted: 23/05/25
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has lowered its annual levy expectation for 2025/26 to £356m, £36m lower than its forecast in November
Posted: 22/05/2025
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation seeking views on proposals to improve the way regulated firms report customer complaints to the regulator, and the changes to the associated complaints reporting rules
Posted: 22/05/25
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) identified 12,379 underpayments between 8 January 2024, and 31 March 2025, totalling around £104m in arrears for those affected by Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) State Pension underpayments
Posted: 22/05/25
The Northern Ireland Local Government Pension Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) has appointed Isio as investment adviser, following a rigorous selection process conducted through the national Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) framework
Posted: 22/05/2025
Royal London has agreed to acquire Dalmore Capital, a UK-based infrastructure asset manager, subject to regulatory approval
Posted: 22/05/25
Returns available to pension savers through guaranteed income for life solutions have reached new highs in early 2025, according to data from Just Group
Posted: 22/05/2025
There is a “concerning” lack of satisfaction among DB pension members who transferred to DC schemes, with only 68 per cent happy with their decision over the past four years, according to Broadstone
Posted: 22/05/25
More than four in five (86 per cent) defined benefit (DB) schemes are currently running at a surplus, though 36 per cent said they "need advice" on how to use it, according to research from LawDeb
Posted: 21/05/2025
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has called for industry collaboration to tackle the UK’s “unfinished” pension system, as it rolls out new regulatory approaches and support ahead of the delivery of upcoming legislative reforms in the Pension Schemes Bill
Posted: 21/5/25
Defined benefit (DB) pension scheme funding levels have hit a record high, with three in four DB schemes now in surplus and deficit payments down by over £10bn a year, analysis from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed
Posted: 21/5/25
More than one in five (21 per cent) people have lost track of a pension, a survey conducted by Opinium on behalf of Hargreaves Lansdown has revealed
Posted: 21/05/2025
Black individuals in the UK expect to enjoy nearly five more years in retirement and receive £8,000 more in annual pension income than the UK average, despite facing a 14.8 per cent ethnicity pay gap, Barnett Waddingham research has revealed
Posted: 21/5/25
Marks and Spencer Group PLC (M&S), SSE and Severn Trent have published their annual results for the year ending March 2025, revealing funding improvements across their defined benefit (DB) pension schemes
Posted: 21/05/2025
The majority (82 per cent) of institutional investors, including UK pension funds, think that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are moving away from short-term asset allocation strategies to core portfolio holdings, research from Carne Group has revealed
Posted: 21/5/25
'Premature' de-risking of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes may be depriving the UK economy of over 20 years of productive investment, research from New Capital Consensus (NCC) has suggested
Posted: 21/5/25
The upcoming increase in employer National Insurance contributions (NIC) has sparked a surge of interest in salary sacrifice, with analysis from Penfold revealing that interest in switching to its salary sacrifice pension solution jumped by 800 per cent year-on-year
Posted: 21/5/25
The UK pensions and insurance sector could meet up to 50 per cent of the investment needed to deliver on the UK's net-zero commitments, but only if the current policy, regulatory and market barriers are overcome, Phoenix Group has said
Posted: 20/5/25
The Pensions Age Autumn Conference, taking place in London on Tuesday 16 September 2025, is now open for registration
Posted: 20/5/25
Nest has committed approximately £450m (€530m) to seed an infrastructure debt fund with strategic partner IFM Investors, targeting investment opportunities in the European market
Posted: 20/05/25
Association of British Insurers (ABI) long-term savings policy adviser, Emily-Mae Collins, discusses the recent progress towards the launch of the MoneyHelper dashboard and the "critical" work still needed on private sector dashboards
Posted: 20/5/25
The combined aggregate IAS19 surplus for UK FTSE 100 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes was £40bn as of year-end 2024, LCP's annual analysis has revealed, marking the fifth year in a row showing an overall surplus
Posted: 20/05/2025
The Impact Investing Principles for Pensions have been updated to help UK pension fund trustees better align their investment decisions with long-term impact goals and fiduciary duties
Posted: 19/05/25
The number of people who fully withdrew pension pots of £250,000 or more was 292 between October 2023 and March 2024, an increase of 70 people compared to the same period a year earlier, according to analysis by Standard Life
Posted: 19/05/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched an innovation support service to reduce “unnecessary” regulatory barriers to pension innovation by enabling early, transparent discussions with pensions innovators.
The regulator has two focus areas, administration and member experience, particularly in the decumulation phase, as well as investment and new scheme models
The regulator has two focus areas, administration and member experience, particularly in the decumulation phase, as well as investment and new scheme models
Posted: 19/05/25
Mid to large-sized employers – those with 500 to 50,000 employees – should be re-enrolling employees into their workplace pension schemes in 2025 as part of their mandatory three-year requirement, Hymans Robertson has urged
Posted: 19/05/2025
The majority of employers (82 per cent) have not switched or considered switching pension providers, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) 2024 employer survey
Posted: 19/05/2025
Pension savers are calling on McDonald’s to prove that its climate strategy can meet its 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets, according to research from PensionBee
Posted: 19/05/25
Pension Wise could benefit from a shift from optional nudges to auto-enrolled appointments, Just Group has suggested, warning that low take-up of guidance risks storing future problems for retirees facing complex financial decisions without support
Posted: 19/05/25
The size of a scheme is the "key factor" for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes choosing an endgame, according to Aon's 2025 endgame survey
Posted: 19/05/2025
Professional trustee appointments have grown by 8 per cent over the past year to reach 2,711, according to WTW research, representing a slowdown from the 11 per cent growth recorded the previous year
Posted: 19/05/25
Several UK pension providers have backed the launch of the Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDE) Investor Taskforce, an industry-led initiative looking to unlock private investment to help tackle climate change
Posted: 16/5/25
Despite defined benefit (DB) pension schemes' resilience and overall good health, scheme trustees may still be reluctant to release any surplus, Insight Investment head of solution design, Jos Vermeulen, has said
Posted: 16/5/25
A third (33 per cent) of adults with defined contribution (DC) pensions have less than £10,000 saved for retirement, while nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of non-retirees have no private pension at all, research from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed
Posted: 16/5/25
Mandating how large pension schemes invest to support UK growth could risk undermining the benefits these schemes already deliver to the UK economy, WPI Economics has suggested
Posted: 16/05/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 16/05/2025
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including the Mansion House Accord and concerns around possible mandation, further pensions dashboard progress, and calls for a retirement 'sat-nav'
Posted: 16/05/25
The government and regulators have faced further calls to introduce a 10-day pension switch guarantee, after research from PensionBee revealed a "stark picture" of the transfer delays facing consumers
Posted: 16/5/25
Sixteen out of 20 pensions dashboards volunteer participants (VPs) are still to complete their connection journey, the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has confirmed, with a number of VPs waiting for a slot to become available so they can move forward with their testing
Posted: 15/05/2025
Concerns around pensions adequacy have continued as the industry awaits the second phase of the government's pension review, although Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has again hit back at claims that the second phase has been delayed
Posted: 15/5/25
Several UK-listed companies' financial updates have shown a continued trend towards defined benefit (DB) pension de-risking strategies
Posted: 15/05/25
The government has launched a consultation on a range of proposals relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales, covering issues such as the gender pensions gap, forfeiture concerns, and opt-out rates.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government explained that much of the consultation focuses on equal access to the scheme and its benefits, as the government looks to improve fairness and address "key issues that have been neglected for too long"
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government explained that much of the consultation focuses on equal access to the scheme and its benefits, as the government looks to improve fairness and address "key issues that have been neglected for too long"
Posted: 15/5/25
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are actively considering a reduction in their US asset holdings, research from WTW has revealed
Posted: 15/5/25
Low member engagement is the biggest hurdle to implementing an effective default retirement solution, a poll from XPS Group has suggested, with 37 per cent of participants citing this as the primary challenge
Posted: 15/05/2025
Industry experts have expressed concerns that a focus on cost in the pension sector could undermine long-term value for members
Posted: 14/05/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has called for the introduction of a retirement 'sat-nav', after industry research revealed that the majority (70 per cent) of savers fully withdraw their defined contribution (DC) pension savings without professional advice or tailored guidance
Posted: 14/2/25
Many pension scheme trustees and sponsors could be underestimating the scale of the challenge and the level of preparation required ahead of pensions dashboards, Isio partner and head of administration, Girish Menezes, has warned
Posted: 14/5/25
Initial findings from Trafalgar House's fifth Trust & Confidence Index of the pensions industry have revealed a decline in public trust for the first time since the surveys began
Posted: 14/05/2025
The most common underpin type in risk transfer and consolidation is defined contribution (DC) with a defined benefit (DB) underpin, research from the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has suggested
Posted: 14/05/25
A 'fragmented and inconsistent' guidance and advice landscape for defined contribution (DC) savers in retirement leaves them uncertain about their options, risking uninformed decisions and poor outcomes, a report from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has suggested
Posted: 14/05/2025
The trustees of the Andrew Limited Pension and Life Assurance Plan have secured a £63m bulk annuity policy with Aviva, securing the pensions of all 570 scheme members
Posted: 14/5/25
Concerns over the potential for a legal underpin for the Mansion House Accord have continued, with Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, refusing to be drawn into speculation over whether mandation could be considered if the signatories do not meet their commitments.
Industry experts have also emphasised the need for the government to ensure a strong pipeline of investable assets, although Bell expressed confidence in this area, noting the growing interest in UK investment from Canadian and Australian pension funds
Industry experts have also emphasised the need for the government to ensure a strong pipeline of investable assets, although Bell expressed confidence in this area, noting the growing interest in UK investment from Canadian and Australian pension funds
Posted: 13/5/25
Working for longer could help maintain cognitive functioning and prevent the onset of physical disability among women in their early 60s, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has revealed
Posted: 13/05/2025
More than half (52 per cent) of savers agree that pension funds should invest more in the UK while only 8 per cent disagree, research from Natwest Cushon has revealed
Posted: 13/5/25
Support for the 2015 freedom and choice reforms remains strong despite older pension savers having some reservations, industry experts have said, after research from Aviva revealed that many savers are not confident pension savings will last
Posted: 13/05/2025
The aggregate surplus of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes fell £13bn to £202.5bn as at the end of April 2025, the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) 7800 Index has revealed
Posted: 13/5/25
Industry experts have welcomed the launch of the Mansion House Accord, suggesting that "the threat of compulsion has been heeded, with providers stepping up", although challenges remain in some key areas
Posted: 13/5/25
Seventeen of the largest UK workplace pension providers have expressed their intent to invest at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution (DC) default funds in private markets by 2030, with 5 per cent of the total allocated to the UK.
Building on the Mansion House Compact, the new voluntary initiative, the Mansion House Accord, is expected to unlock up to £50bn of investment for UK businesses and major infrastructure projects
Building on the Mansion House Compact, the new voluntary initiative, the Mansion House Accord, is expected to unlock up to £50bn of investment for UK businesses and major infrastructure projects
Posted: 13/5/25
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing renewed scrutiny over pensions dashboards progress, with the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) writing to the Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, to highlight a number of industry concerns and queries.
WPC chair, Debbie Abrahams, raised queries around how many providers and schemes have applied to defer connection beyond the October 2026 deadline, also highlighting concerns around over-regulation and private-sector dashboards
WPC chair, Debbie Abrahams, raised queries around how many providers and schemes have applied to defer connection beyond the October 2026 deadline, also highlighting concerns around over-regulation and private-sector dashboards
Posted: 12/5/25
The upcoming Pensions Schemes Bill, expected to be released by the government before summer recess this year, is set to be "crammed to bursting with measures,” according to LCP partner and head of pensions research, David Everett
Posted: 12/05/2025
Less than half (48 per cent) of mid-retirees (aged 65-75) are confident they are on track to make their private pension savings last for life, a report from Aviva has revealed, prompting calls for the introduction of a 'mid-retirement MOT'
Posted: 12/05/2025
One in five (21 per cent) UK adults don’t know when they will retire, research by Hargreaves Lansdown has shown, indicating a lack of financial planning and awareness regarding retirement
Posted: 12/05/25
The AQA Pension Scheme has completed a £120m full scheme buy-in with Rothesay, covering the benefits of all 869 scheme members, including 471 pensioners and dependants as well as 398 deferred members
Posted: 12/5/25
The majority (83 per cent) of British adults underestimate how much annual income is recommended for a single pensioner living a moderate lifestyle by at least £10,000, research from Lightyear has revealed
Posted: 09/05/25
The Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) has launched a new investment company pooling the assets of 22 Local Authorities' Schemes, in a move that is expected to help deliver growth and jobs across Wales
Posted: 9/5/25
The Bank of England’s (BoE) reduction of the base rate from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent is expected to be "welcomed" by most pension schemes due to strong funding positions
Posted: 09/05/25
EQ Retirement Solutions (EQRS) has launched a new member communications and engagement service, designed to enhance the firm's existing solutions for public and private sector schemes, and long-term savings and retirement providers
Posted: 9/5/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 9/5/25
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments in the industry this week, including updates on multi-employer collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes, pensions dashboard progress, and calls on the government to address industry concerns
Posted: 09/05/25
The average pension pot of £253,701 would only last 11 years against the average desired annual retirement income of £30,050, research from Retirement Review has revealed, highlighting a gap between savings reality and income expectations
Posted: 08/05/25
The first few deadlines in the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) pensions dashboards staged timeline guidance have now passed, and the number of providers that have completed their connection to the dashboards ecosystem has continued to grow since
Posted: Last updated - 28/7/25
The 2025 valuation for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is expected to provide a “unique opportunity" to reset contribution levels, Isio has said, after its latest update revealed that the LGPS remains in a “surprisingly strong position"
Posted: 8/5/25
Defined benefit (DB) funding levels have remained “robust” despite the significant volatility in global financial markets caused by US President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, Broadstone's Sirius Index has revealed
Posted: 08/05/25
The Cancer Research UK Pension Scheme has agreed a £280m buy-in with Standard Life, covering the benefits of 2,800 members
Posted: 08/05/2025
TPT Retirement Solutions has announced plans to launch its own collective defined contribution (CDC) scheme, making it the first provider to publicly declare its intention to enter the multi-employer CDC pensions market
Posted: 8/5/25
Workers taking extended unpaid leave could face a financial fallout far beyond their personal budgets, equating to a collective £230.69bn shortfall in pension pots nationwide if two years of unpaid leave is taken, Barnett Waddingham has found
Posted: 07/05/25
Brunel Pension Partnership has confirmed that it is working with its partner funds to explore options for the next stage of its future, after the government rejected the pool's proposed business case and invited the funds to pursue mergers
Posted: 7/5/25
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published updated guidance to help pension schemes make third-party applications, including those to appoint an independent trustee (IT)
Posted: 07/05/2025
Defined contribution (DC) pension savers could see their potential retirement income fall by up to 20 per cent as a result of market volatility seen following the introduction of US tariffs, although those in defined benefit (DB) schemes are unlikely to be affected, research from the Society of Pension Professionals has revealed
Posted: 7/5/25
While defined contribution (DC) savers saw strong income growth between 2019 and 2025, the oldest cohort is projected to fare the worst in retirement, Aon’s UK DC pension tracker has revealed
Posted: 07/05/25
Retirement outlooks have continued to worsen in recent years due to rising living costs, with research from Scottish Widows revealing that 39 per cent of people (around 15.3 million) in the UK, aren't on track for a minimum lifestyle in retirement, up from 35 per cent in 2023
Posted: 7/5/25
Intellica has acquired Cosan Consulting for an undisclosed amount
Posted: 7/5/25
Higher earning households could be under-saving for retirement, research from Hargreaves Lansdown has found, raising concerns that some could be on track for a "nasty shock" about their standard of living in retirement
Posted: 06/05/25
Nearly one sixth (15 per cent) of UK adults do not know who will receive their pension savings if they pass away before taking them, rising to a "worrying" 18 per cent amongst those aged 79 and over, research from Aviva has revealed
Posted: 6/5/25
The government should "embrace bold pension reforms", Baroness Ros Altmann has said, suggesting that the government should require at least 25 per cent of new pension contributions to be invested in Britain as a "quid pro quo" for tax reliefs
Posted: 6/5/25
A pragmatic new regime is needed for defined benefit (DB) surplus release, Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) chair, Stewart Hastie, has said, arguing that a new regulator code needs to follow "sooner rather than later" in order to drive behavioural change
Posted: 6/5/25
There are “major” differences in retirement spending patterns between homeowner and renter pensioners, research from LCP and the University of Bath has found, highlighting the need for more tailored post-retirement income strategies
Posted: 06/05/25
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are pulling ahead of scheme sponsors when it comes to making progress on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations, research from LawDeb has revealed
Posted: 6/5/25
Mercer has completed the acquisition of Secor Asset Management for an undisclosed amount
Posted: 6/5/25
The UK’s defined benefit (DB) risk transfer market is witnessing a “fundamental transformation” with insurer supply now exceeding demand for the first time in several years, Hymans Robertson has suggested
Posted: 02/05/25
Pensions Age looks back on the key developments from the pensions industry this week, including pension dashboard progress,recent market volatility, and updates from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
Posted: 02/05/25
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation on how its live artificial intelligence (AI) testing service can help firms deploy “safe and responsible” AI that benefits markets and consumers
Posted: 2/5/25
The latest news in brief and mandates from the past seven days
Posted: 2/5/25
The number of pension providers that have completed their connection to the pensions dashboards ecosystem has continued to grow, with Standard Life and AJ Bell the latest to confirm that that they have completed connection
Posted: 2/5/25
European pension schemes holding US assets face an "unprecedented challenge", Isio chief investment officer, Barry Jones has warned, with many schemes now rethinking their foreign exchange (FX) trading following the introduction of US President Donald Trump's tariffs
Posted: 2/5/25
Pensions Management Institute (PMI) chief strategy officer, Helen Forrest Hall, discusses the importance of getting the sequencing of the upcoming pension reforms right
Posted: 1/5/25
Almost half (47 per cent) of carers between the ages of 60 and 65 have no private pension savings, analysis by Phoenix Insights has revealed
Posted: 01/05/2025
The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has announced plans to question pension industry leaders and finance think tanks on pension funds’ UK investments and how to boost them
Posted: 1/5/25
Govt to consider PPF compensation changes; consultation on governance to be launched later this year
The government has said that it will consider changes to the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) compensation framework, including pre-1997 indexation, also announcing plans to consult on measures to improve scheme governance and trustee accreditation later this year
Posted: 1/5/25
Over six in 10 (63 per cent) institutional investors, including pension funds, are “quite concerned” that companies are making false claims about the extent to which they use artificial intelligence (AI) and its positive impact on operations, Robocap research has revealed
Posted: 1/05/25
HM Treasury has updated the Treasury Directions for the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 regarding the McCloud remedy
Posted: 30/04/2025
A changing DC market
In our latest Pensions Age video interview, Aon DC senior partner and head of DC consulting, Ben Roe, speaks to Laura Blows about the latest changes and challenges within the DC sector
Being retirement ready
Gavin Lewis, Head of UK and Ireland Institutional at BlackRock, talks to Francesca Fabrizi about the BlackRock 2024 UK Read on Retirement report, 'Ready or not. How are we feeling about retirement?’
Podcast: Who matters most in pensions?
In the latest Pensions Age podcast, Francesca Fabrizi speaks to Capita Pension Solutions global practice leader & chief revenue officer, Stuart Heatley, about who matters most in pensions and how to best meet their needs
Podcast: A look at asset-backed securities
Royal London Asset Management head of ABS, Jeremy Deacon, chats about asset-backed securities (ABS) in our latest Pensions Age podcast
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