Professional Pensions - 31st January 2011

Just one in 20 employers intends to use the National Employment Savings Trust for auto-enrolment, according to Punter Southall research.

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Professional Pensions - 31st January 2011

The Pension Protection Fund and The Pensions Regulator have published the sixth edition of the Purple Book, setting out risks posed to pension schemes.

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Professional Pensions - 31st January 2011

The Pensions Regulator has released its reasoning for issuing a series of financial support directions to the ITV group over the beleaguered Box Clever Pension Scheme.

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Informed Choice - 31st January 2011

Eleven months today sees the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR); a regulatory initiative designed to increase levels of professionalism in the retail financial services sector.

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Institute of Fiscal Studies - 31st January 2011

Latest public pension reforms unlikely to save money over longer term; Four-year pay squeeze returns publicprivate differential to pre-recession level

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Financial Times - 31st January 2011

Revised government proposals on pensions for public sector workers are unlikely to save much, if any, money over the long term and will even widen the advantages that low-waged workers on the state payroll have

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Business Insurance - 30th January 2011

Retirement assets in the 13 major global markets increased 4% to a record $27.5 trillion in 2011, according to Towers Watson & Co.’s annual Global Pension Assets Study.

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FT Adviser - 30th January 2011

Pensions Ombudsman rules in favour of insurer and scheme administrator after client complaint.

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Pensions.co.uk - 30th January 2011

All of us need to save more for our retirement. As more of us live to a ripe old age, it's more important than ever to build up a savings pot to live off once we've given up work.

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IFA Online - 30th January 2011

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is disbanding an overseas team of pensions officers in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Yemen.

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Professional Pensions - 30th January 2011

UK pension fund assets have grown by 8% a year over the last decade and at $2.4trn (£1.5trn) are now worth more than country’s gross domestic product, research finds.

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Pensions World - 30th January 2011

The government has launched a consultation on equalising pension benefits for the effect of unequal guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs). Experts are concerned that its suggestions are very much at the expensive end of the spectrum.

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Financial News - 30th January 2011

The relentless rise of defined contribution pension plans, with their intense focus on the individual, has triggered a massive change in the way providers communicate – even using Twitter and Facebook.

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Financial News - 30th January 2011

National Grid has agreed to stump up an extra £705m over the next 15 years to fix the deficit in its £14bn pension scheme.

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Financial Times - 29th January 2011

The idea that pension funds should invest in infrastructure has made headlines in the UK recently, where the chancellor George Osborne has called for it as a way to boost the economy. "Infrastructure is a great match to [pension] liabilities," says Mr ...

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Financial Times - 29th January 2011

"Get them in, get them saving, then worry about charges," tweeted Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, a UK brokerage, in a Twitter debate. He was referring to auto-enrolment rules that begin to come into force in the UK this...

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Independent - 28th January 2011

Local authorities have been urged to scrap investments in tobacco firms after an investigation by The Independent revealed that their pension funds have an estimated £2bn stake in firms such as Imperial and British American Tobacco.

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Pensions World - 28th January 2011

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is finalising details for the thresholds which will be used for the first wave of auto-enrolment, starting in October this year.

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Financial Times - 27th January 2011

A new advertising campaign to raise awareness of the automatic enrolment of staff into company pension schemes has been launched by the government - as part of a policy to encourage millions more workers to save for retirement.

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Professional Pensions - 27th January 2011

Pension funds could be caught in the “side-winds” of new EU legislation that “ramps up the pressure” on data protection, lawyers warn.

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Professional Pensions - 27th January 2011

The Pensions Management Institute has seen take-up of its Diploma in Employee Benefits and Retirement Savings soar to over 200 people since its launch in September.

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FT Adviser - 27th January 2011

Equity release broker’s data shows 36 per cent of people are using equity to repay their mortgage.

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Pensions.co.uk - 27th January 2011

The savings industry seems to finally be waking up to the dangers of pension inflexibility, with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) recognising the potential unsuitability of pensions - something which is long overdue, according to Saga director general Dr Ros Altmann.

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Money Marketing - 27th January 2011

Influential campaigner Baroness Greengross is preparing to lobby senior Government ministers over concerns that people with small pension pots will be unable to access independent financial advice after the RDR.

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IFA Onlne - 27th January 2011

QROPS that fail to take up proposed rule changes will not be hit by hefty member charges, according to David Higgins, technical expert director for Fairbairn’s at Overseas Pensions.

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FT Adviser - 27th January 2011

Asset management company to help Nest meet social responsibility and environmental goals.

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Financial Times - 26th January 2011

Such a premium listing provides a passport for them into the flagship indices of leading companies used by pension funds and investment managers to benchmark portfolios. The UK's Financial Services Authority said the proposed changes would ensure that

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FT Adviser - 26th January 2011

The equity release market has reported its first rise in both lending and sales plans since 2007, as more people seek alternative income streams, data from Key Retirement Solutions has found.

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FT Adviser - 26th January 2011

Careful planning can generate a higher income in retirement despite falling gilt yields, Skandia’s head of retirement planning has said.

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Citywire - 26th January 2011

An FSA questionnaire about the way advisers handle income drawdown cases shows its thinking about this area and offers lessons in how to deal with the regulator’s attention, writes Fiona Tait of Scottish Life.

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Moneyfacts - 26th January 2011

The beginning of auto-enrolment pensions schemes can't come soon enough for many people, with contributions for employers the biggest pull for many.

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Professional Pensions - 26th January 2011

Yesterday, the Department for Work and Pensions published the revised timetable of staging dates for auto-enrolment. PP rounds up industry reaction and looks at how the changes will help larger as well as smaller employees.

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Pensions Policy Institute - 26th January 2011

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Pomery CVO as its Chairman, in succession to Matthew Annable

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Nest - 26th January 2011

This February, we'll be visiting cities across the UK to speak directly to employers and advisers about NEST.

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Pensions Talk - 26th January 2011

Earlier this month Chris Jackson posted on the changes that have been made to PPF Type A guarantees under this year’s Pension Protection Fund levy determination, published in December 2011.

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Financial News - 26th January 2011

The response from the UK (and the Netherlands, and Germany) to the EU's latest financial wheeze – applying strict insurance-style solvency rules to company pension plans – could fairly be described as 'unbridled horror',...

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FT Adviser - 26th January 2011

The government will cap pension charges if providers do not increase transparency for auto-enrolment.

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Money Marketing - 26th January 2011

Steve Bee has hit out at out pensions minister Steve Webb for saying it his goal to make it unnecessary for small firms and low earners to seek advice over auto-enrolment.

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Professional Pensions - 26th January 2011

Polarisation of the annuity market is set to cut profit margins for traditional ‘roll-over’ annuity providers unless they adapt their business models, Hymans Robertson predicts.

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Professional Pensions - 26th January 2011

Scrapping indexation could save defined benefit schemes billions of pounds but it would not see a mass move back to DB provision, experts have warned.

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Professional Pensions - 26th January 2011

John Redwood’s piece in last week’s PP – Look beyond gilts to cut deficits, (PP, 19 January) – argued that low gilt yields are a reason for trustees to seek out potentially higher yielding,...

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Lovemoney - 26th January 2011

Stashing cash in a savings account is one habit you shouldn’t be kicking this new year. And if you haven’t already, getting hold of a tax-free cash ISA for your nest egg should be at the top of your list of resolutions.

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Financial News - 25th January 2011

A Canadian pension fund has stepped up its push to invest into the UK with the appointment of a former 3i Group executive to run its London office.

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Professional Pensions - 25th January 2011

The equivalent of £1 in every £5 raised in council tax in the UK goes towards funding the Local Government Pension Scheme, research from a tax lobby group claims.

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Professional Pensions - 25th January 2011

The constraints on the National Employment Savings Trust were not integral to the organisation qualifying for state aid, says pensions minister Steve Webb.

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Department for Work and Pensions - 25th January 2011

A revised timetable for when employers of all sizes must start enrolling their staff in a workplace pension is set out by the Government today.

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Professional Pensions - 25th January 2011

The benefits of employer contributions will provide a strong incentive to keep people from opting out of their pension schemes, research by the Association of British Insurers reveals.

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HFM Week - 25th January 2011

This year the UK ushers in auto-enrolment, the pension reform which will see millions of British workers automatically signed up to a Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme without any active decision on their part.

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Professional Pensions - 25th January 2011

Changing the way in which GMP equalisation is implemented could save schemes around £5bn, Aon Hewitt believes.

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Professional Pensions - 25th January 2011

Here they are… The top ten practical difficulties with equalising to allow for guaranteed minimum pensions.

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Guardian - 25th January 2011

Global management consultancy warns lack of financial education is to blame for a “far worse” UK pensions crisis than first thought.

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Guardian - 25th January 2011

Teaching and civil service unions join talks to discuss further industrial action over public sector reform plans.

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Professional Pensions - 25th January 2011

The revised timetable of staging dates for auto-enrolment has been released by the Department for Work and Pensions.

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FT Adviser - 24th January 2011

The government is working towards making sure Britons have a pension pot for life, Steve Webb MP has said.

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Money Marketing - 24th January 2011

Guernsey is preparing to overhaul its pension rules from April this year which may lead to Qrops de-registering, according to international provider Brooklands Pensions.

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FT Adviser - 24th January 2011

Global management consultancy warns lack of financial education is to blame for a “far worse” UK pensions crisis than first thought.

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Pensions Advisory Service - 24th January 2011

A multi-million pound government campaign aimed at getting millions of people saving more for their retirement launches in the print press from today.

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Professional Pensions - 24th January 2011

The Department for Work and Pensions is to hold a “red tape challenge” in a bid to deregulate and help reinvigorate occupational schemes.

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Director of Finance Online - 24th January 2011

How to get your employees to move over to more sustainable and cost-effective pension schemes.

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Professional Pensions - 24th January 2011

Solvency II pension policy makers will lay out more details of an impact assessment on the effect of scheme solvency standards for UK pension schemes in March, EIOPA has confirmed.

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Pensions Age - 24th January 2011

Many UK companies are putting cost before quality when hiring members for their scheme’s trustee boards, research by Capita Fiduciary Group revealed today.

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FT Adviser - 24th January 2011

Pensions provider launches microsite explaining the forthcoming technical changes to pensions legislation.

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Pensions Week - 24th January 2011

Hundreds of charities and quasi-public sector organisations have been saved by last-ditch extensions of up to 30 years to their deficit repayment plans.

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Professional Pensions - 24th January 2011

Pension deficits increased more than 50% last year, but widening spreads between corporate bonds and gilts have masked an even greater deterioration in funding positions, argues Hymans Robertson.

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Professional Pensions - 24th January 2011

Pensions minister Steve Webb is considering lifting the statutory restrictions on the National Employment Savings Trust in response to new entries to the auto-enrolment market

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IFA Online - 23rd January 2011

Pensions minister Steve Webb has said the government is "absolutely prepared" to cap private pension fund management charges if they hinder saving.

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FT Adviser - 23rd January 2011

The equity release market has reported the first annual rise in both lending and sales plans since 2007, according to Key Retirement Solutions.

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Investment & Pensions Europe - 23rd January 2011

Draft changes to UK laws to make the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) equal for men and women will give pension schemes an "administrative headache", the NAPF says.

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My Finances - 23rd January 2011

British bonds performed well in 2011, despite the shaky start to the national and global economic recovery.

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Professional Pensions - 23rd January 2011

Pension deficits increased more than 50% last year, but widening spreads between corporate bonds and gilts have masked an even greater deterioration in funding positions, argues Hymans Robertson.

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IFA Online - 23rd January 2011

The site aims to clarify the latest pensions legislation including changes to the lifetime allowance, contracting out, flexible drawdown and carry forward rules.

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IFA Online - 23rd January 2011

Proposed legislation designed to prevent the abuse of qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (QROPS) could increase providers’ costs by 150%, Fairbairns has warned.

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Professional Pensions - 23rd January 2011

The government has laid out how plans on schemes should go about equalising guaranteed minimum pensions.

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Money Marketing - 23rd January 2011

Aegon UK has revealed details of an online employee benefits “hub” as the provider prepares for automatic enrolment this year.

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Financial News - 23rd January 2011

The consequence will be employers withdrawing from funded occupational pensions. This adds the German pensions industry to the list of opponents to the proposed changes to pensions regulations, which already includes the UK and the Netherlands.

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Financial News - 23rd January 2011

At Deloitte, we are finding that the human resources departments of many firms are insufficiently prepared for the UK's forthcoming pensions reforms, which require automatic enrolment of all staff into a pension scheme. The largest firms will have to...

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FT Adviser - 23rd January 2011

Government rolls out campaign to encourage people to not opt-out of auto-enrolment when the new rules are introduced in October.

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Financial Times - 22nd January 2011

While Mr Himbury believed infrastructure was a suitable asset class for pensions, and has overseen a number of investments in UK projects, he warned that limiting the target market for such investments was not in the interest of investors.

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Financial Times - 22nd January 2011

Since UK pension funds are already struggling to plug deficits with the current valuation of liabilities, this would effectively mean sponsor companies having to put a lot more money into the pension funds, making them less attractive to provide and...

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Department for Work and Pensions - 21st January 2011

This consultation concerns amendments to the Equality Act 2010 and the Pensions Act 2004 to reflect development in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

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Fair Pensions - 20th January 2011

In a speech in parliament later today Jon Cruddas MP will argue that the political debate on ‘responsible capitalism' has not gone far enough to deliver real change.

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Professional Pensions - 20th January 2011

The trustee board of the Unilever UK Pension Fund has agreed not to block changes to the scheme proposed by Unilever, its sponsoring employer, despite a wave of national strikes over the firm’s move to cease final salary accrual.

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FT Adviser - 20th January 2011

Friends Life announces the first details of its automatic enrolment solution.

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Money Marketing - 20th January 2011

A Parliamentary motion calling on the Government to take urgent action to drive down pension fees has been signed by 48 MPs.

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Money Marketing - 20th January 2011

MetLife has agreed a six month exclusivity deal to become the first fixed-term annuity provider on The Open Market Annuity Service.

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Money Marketing - 20th January 2011

The Pensions Regulator has warned against a cap on pension charges, saying it would limit new entrants into the market.

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FT Adviser - 20th January 2011

Platform pensions will soon replace the need for more expensive Sipps, research by Skandia has shown.

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Money Marketing - 19th January 2011

Living Time is to return to the retirement market in the first quarter of this year.

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FT Adviser - 19th January 2011

Most shoppers only know how to shop around for annuities on price with few knowing how to spot quality

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Reuters - 19th January 2011

Prolonged financial crisis and shifts in economic power herald an age of uncertainty which the financial industry and its clients are not equipped to understand, says one of Britain's most powerful institutional investors.

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Pension Funds Online - 19th January 2011

In speaking out in favour of ending mandatory inflation proofing, Pension Minister Steve Webb recently aired an idea that has been touted for years as a way to revive the ever dwindling fortunes of defined benefit schemes

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Professional Pensions - 19th January 2011

The decision to switch indexation measures for pensions uprating could be debated in parliament again after an e-petition criticising the move attracted more than 100,000 signatures.

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Easier Finance - 19th January 2011

SIPP provider A J Bell is pressing the government to act as new rules on income drawdown combined with near record low gilt yields have led to a 32% cut in retirement income for many pensioners.

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FT Adviser - 19th January 2011

There are still some heavy costs involved in personal pensions, even in today’s competitive market. Janet Walford OBE looks at pre and post RDR pension charges and finds huge differences between providers.

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Pensions Age - 19th January 2011

Over half (52 per cent) of employees are concerned that their defined benefit (DB) scheme will not exist by the time they enter retirement according to MetLife, after the last remaining company on the FTSE 100 closed its DB pension scheme to new members.

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Professional Pensions - 19th January 2011

The Pensions Regulator has dismissed claims payroll providers are dragging their feet in the development of suitable systems to cope with auto-enrolment.

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HMRC - 18th January 2011

This is a list of Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) that have consented to have their details published – not all QROPS will necessarily feature within it.

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Professional Pensions - 18th January 2011

Jaguar Land Rover has restored the link to the Retail Prices Index for 1,000 of its pensioner members after union negotiations.

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Professional Pensions - 18th January 2011

Ed Miliband has urged the government to introduce a consumer watchdog to stop “predatory” companies and pension providers from taking advantage of consumers through excessive charges.

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Pensions.co.uk - 18th January 2011

Retirement income is being cut by a third for pensioners with income drawdown pensions, because of rules brought in by the government last year.

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Pensions World - 18th January 2011

At age 65, men in the highest socio-economic group in England and Wales are living longer than those in the lowest socio-economic group by up to 3.5 years,...

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Money Marketing - 18th January 2011

MetLife UK has recruited Friends Life head of group risk Stephanie Baillie as it prepares for an assault on the employee benefits market.

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Money Marketing - 18th January 2011

The European Commission’s apparent intent to force pension schemes to hold more capital by introducing insurance-type Solvency II requirements has led to a comical bout of one-upmanship over the impact it will have on the UK.

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Citywire - 18th January 2011

Workplace pensions will be excluded from the European gender directive set to force insurers to price pensions the same way for men and women.

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National Association of Pensions Funds - 17th January 2011

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) today (Tuesday) commented on the Pensions Regulator’s plans to help trustees dealing with the valuation and recovery plan process of final salary (Defined Benefit) pensions in the current economic environment.

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FT Adviser - 17th January 2011

Estimates of the cost of implementing EU proposals to adapt capital rules for insurers vary from £100m to £1,000bn. Why the wide range?

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Professional Pensions - 17th January 2011

The latest inflation figures will bring home the effect of the switch from RPI to CPI for scheme members as the gap between the two widens, warns an inflation expert.

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FT Adviser - 17th January 2011

The Pensions Regulator has said it will publish guidance to help trustees support beleaguered defined benefits schemes in April.

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Pensions World - 17th January 2011

UK pension funds have suffered serious damage from recent policies to stimulate growth – in particular low interest rates coupled with quantitative easing (QE) have led to significant increases in pension liabilities, which have been further compounded by the sharp rise in inflation in recent years.

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Money Marketing - 17th January 2011

Pensions minister Steve Webb’s plan to scrap inflation linking for defined-benefit schemes will only affect future retirees.

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FT Adviser - 17th January 2011

Legal & General Workplace Savings has created a new role to focus on auto enrolment delivery ahead of the start of scheme staging later this year.

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Financial Times - 16th January 2011

A landmark legal dispute brought by a solicitor who claims he was forcibly retired will come before the UK's highest court on Tuesday in one of the most important age discrimination cases to date

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FT Adviser - 16th January 2011

Retirement specialist warns FSA wants to see “evidence of continued suitability” to take account of changes in clients’ circumstances.

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FT Adviser - 16th January 2011

Scheme administrators can use assumed two per cent rate when calculating drawdown pension payable, even if gilts drop below this level.

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Bloomberg - 16th January 2011

U.K. opposition lawmakers are calling for pension-fund managers to cut their fees in order to boost the amount of money savers set aside for their retirement.

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Professional Pensions - 16th January 2011

Pension schemes could be caught in the Serious Fraud Office's crosshairs following a landmark corruption case that saw the government department recuperate £131,201 from shareholders.

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Professional Pensions - 16th January 2011

Nearly three-quarters of investment professionals believe government bonds are overvalued, research from CFA UK reveals.

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Professional Pensions - 16th January 2011

The government is considering scrapping indexation for defined benefit pension schemes as part of its promise to reinvigorate occupational pensions, the pensions minister confirms.

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FT Adviser - 16th January 2011

Provider says it has no intention to “compromise how IFAs work with their individual clients” as it compensates client for lost income.

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Financial News - 16th January 2011

British representatives in Brussels are warning that pension funds may become the first victims of David Cameron's decision to veto a new European treaty aimed at rescuing the euro. They say the veto is harming UK interests in negotiations over a new...

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Financial Times - 14th January 2011

Private-sector workers could lose inflation protection for their pensions, as the government reconsiders reforms deemed too unpalatable to introduce a decade ago. Across the UK, 2m active members of private-sector defined benefit,...

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Financial Times - 13th January 2011

"Cash balance" plans are little known in the UK - currently, only 8000 employees have them - but they are one of the "risk sharing" solutions that the government is considering as it seeks to reduce the pension burden on employers...

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Easier Finance - 13th January 2011

Alliance Trust Savings has launched a New Year special offer for SIPP customers giving them a £100 John Lewis gift voucher for every new Select SIPP application made between the 9th January and 15th February 2012.

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Professional Pensions - 13th January 2011

Unions have appealed the High Court judgement which ruled the government’s decision to uprate public sector pensions in line with CPI inflation was lawful.

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Pensions World - 13th January 2011

UK pension funds have suffered serious damage from recent policies to stimulate growth – in particular low interest rates coupled with quantitative easing (QE) have led to significant increases in pension liabilities, which have been further compounded by the sharp rise in inflation in recent years.

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Informed Choice - 13th January 2011

From 6th April 2012, the lifetime allowance for tax privileged pension savings is being reduced from £1.8m to £1.5m.

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IFA Online - 12th January 2011

The government is making 10,000 compensation payments to Equitable Life victims every week, Mark Hoban, financial secretary to the Treasury, has announced.

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Reuters - 12th January 2011

Deep in the financial crisis, a Canadian pension fund entrusted with the nest eggs of 17 million workers bet a chunk of that money on Internet phone service Skype,...

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Professional Pensions - 12th January 2011

Trustees have been urged to review their approach to calculating cash equivalent transfer values to avoid putting scheme finances at risk.

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Money Marketing - 12th January 2011

The state pension is in a bit of a mess - reform and simplification of this state benefit is widely regarded as long overdue.

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FT Adviser - 12th January 2011

Pension minister Steve Webb’s excitement last year over 2012 had less to do with the approaching London Olympics and was more about the onset of auto-enrolment In fact,...

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Citywire - 12th January 2011

The closure of defined benefit pension schemes could have unexpected consequences for share investors.

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Professional Pensions - 12th January 2011

Scheme managers are split whether the delay to auto-enrolment for smaller employers is a positive move.

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Professional Pensions - 12th January 2011

Plans to overhaul the so-called pensions directive have done little but generate negative headlines and dire predictions since they were put out to consultation by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority last autumn.

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Reuters - 12th January 2011

Eastman Kodak (EK.N), an American icon that is struggling to survive, could find that one of its costliest problems hails from overseas.

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Professional Pensions - 12th January 2011

Low-cost providers have demanded equal footing with the National Employment Savings Trust in the Department for Work and Pensions’ communications.

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Professional Pensions - 11th January 2011

FATCA – or the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act – could have a significant impact on UK pension schemes and their members. PP looks at the what you need to know in this exclusive guide...

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Stock Market Wire - 11th January 2011

Saga is urging the Government to encourage local authority pension funds to invest their assets in domestic infrastructure.

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Informed Choice - 11th January 2011

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have announced greater flexibility in respect of income drawdown (unsecured pension) reviews

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Professional Pensions - 11th January 2011

Funding from the Department for Work and Pensions to pensions regulators and ombudsmen has fallen since 2010, figures have revealed.

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Professional Pensions - 11th January 2011

Defined benefit scheme deficits stood at £402bn at the end of last year, based on company accounting rules, Xafinity analysis shows.

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Professional Pensions - 11th January 2011

Longevity swaps are rapidly outpacing the value of buyout and buy-in deals with risk transfer volumes hitting a new high of £11bn last year, latest figures show.

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Professional Pensions - 11th January 2011

Institutional investors worth trillions of pounds are factoring climate change into their investment decisions, a Mercer survey has revealed.

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Professional Pensions - 11th January 2011

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has denied rumours its deal with the Treasury to encourage £20bn of pension fund investment in infrastructure projects has been called off.

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Department for Work and Pensions - 11th January 2011

When an employer who is participating in a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme ceases to employ any active members of the scheme (for example where all the employees of one company are moved to another),...

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Professional Pensions - 11th January 2011

Members of Unison have given the green light to further talks on a set of reforms to their pensions proposed by the government.

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Money Marketing - 11th January 2011

Chancellor George Osborne is planning to raid local authority pension funds to help finance UK infrastructure projects, according to The Times.

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Finance Markets - 11th January 2011

People who retire this year will be £3,000 worse off than those who retired four years ago because factors such as the credit crunch, the recession and the eurozone crisis have pushed down annuity rates to a record low.

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Easier Finance - 11th January 2011

One in four people who invest in a SIPP have the vast majority (90% or more) of their assets held in either a Unit Trust or OEIC, according to research from Skandia's latest Adviser Confidence Barometer.

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Pensions Age - 11th January 2011

Research from BBS Consultants & Actuaries has found that 97% of younger employees (under 40) are not thinking about their pensions at all despite employers emphasising the important role that employee benefits play in the workplace.

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Prudential - 11th January 2011

The amount of pension income Britons retiring in 2012 expect to receive has dipped 16% in the past five years, figures released today (January 11th) revealed.

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Jerusalem Post - 10th January 2011

Your Taxes: Interaction between the UK, Israeli tax systems means that UK olim can particularly benefit from QROPS.

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Annuity News Journal - 10th January 2011

With the turmoil that affected the investment worlds between 2007 and 2011, annuities were one sector that did surprisingly well for investors.

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Pensions Talk - 10th January 2011

Christmas is over for another year and, with the last mince pie eaten and New Year’s resolution forgotten, everyone seems finally to have come back to work for a rest.

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FT Adviser - 10th January 2011

The reduction of the maximum income drawdown limit announced last year will not be extended to flexible annuities, the government has confirmed.

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FT Adviser - 10th January 2011

Nest research shows pension jargon could damage people’s chances of saving for retirement.

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Professional Pensions - 10th January 2011

Defined benefit scheme funding levels have plunged by one-fifth over the past year dragging a further 83 previously fully funded schemes into deficit, data shows.

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Association of Consulting Actuaries - 10th January 2011

In its response to the 500-page European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) consultation on changes to the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) Directive, the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has rejected key suggestions as being ‘inappropriate, unaffordable and unnecessary’.

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IFA Online - 10th January 2011

People paying 50% tax must claim extra tax relief on their pensions before February or risk losing thousands for good, a private bank estimates.

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Pensions World - 10th January 2011

The aggregate deficit of the 6,533 schemes in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 index is estimated to have increased over the month to £255.2bn at the end of December 2011, from a deficit of £222.1bn at the end of November. The funding ratio fell from 81.9% to 80.0%.

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Pensions Age - 10th January 2011

New research on employer attitudes to pension provision has produced some worrying results, and the government must avoid any further delays to the implementation of auto-enrolment, according to NOW: Pensions.

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FT Adviser - 10th January 2011

Rising numbers of pensioners are taking out temporary annuities because of the poor rates of return offered by traditional retirement products, an employee benefits specialist has found.

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Professional Pensions - 10th January 2011

A “significant number” of FTSE250 companies operate a pension scheme which represents a material risk to the business, analysis reveals.

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Professional Pensions - 10th January 2011

Legal & General intends to extend the longevity swap market to cover smaller schemes, after completing a £1bn deal with the Pilkington Superannuation Scheme.

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Medical News Today - 9th January 2011

About 130,000 BMA Doctors and medical students across the UK will be questioned regarding the government's final offer in negotiations on the future of the NHS pension scheme...

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Money Marketing - 9th January 2011

The Dutch pension system that is often held up as an example to the UK is coming under attack as pensioners face benefit cuts and valuations are accused as inaccurate

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FT Adviser - 9th January 2011

Company says that no ‘incentive’ is offered and that cash is offered as part of membership with sister firm.

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IFA Online - 9th January 2011

This year’s retirees will have the lowest pension incomes since 2008, according to research by insurer Prudential.

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Professional Pensions - 9th January 2011

A “significant number” of FTSE250 companies operate a pension scheme which represents a material risk to the business, analysis reveals.

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IFA Online - 9th January 2011

UK pension schemes and consultants have expressed serious concerns about European plans to implement Solvency II-style rules across the EU.

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Pensions Advisory Service - 9th January 2011

Fidelity, one of the UK's largest investment managers, has said that the government should suspend the use of enhanced transfer value exercises until an urgent review into the practice has been completed.

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Professional Pensions - 9th January 2011

Sackers has promoted Caroline Legg from associate director to partner.

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Pensions World - 9th January 2011

The Trustee of the Pilkington Superannuation Scheme has insured against the risk of 11,500 current pensioners in the scheme living longer than expected, with around £1bn of associated liabilities, with Legal & General.

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Scotsman - 9th January 2011

Workers are being forced to increase their pension contributions, wait longer for their retirement and all in return for significantly reduced benefits. It’s the stuff of industrial action, yet a concerted backlash is unlikely.

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Scotsman - 9th January 2011

Thousands of couples are putting divorce proceedings on hold because of uncertainty over public sector pensions sparked by the government’s controversial reforms, it has been revealed.

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Financial News - 9th January 2011

The pensions industry has condemned as vague and unhelpful a consultation exercise from the European Commission designed to introduce rules on solvency.

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Annuity News Journal - 6th January 2011

2011 was a great year for indexed annuities, and 2012 is poised to be even better. While quite a few major insurance companies have looked down upon indexed annuities in favor of variable annuities, the trend seems to have lessened over the last few years.

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Financial Times - 6th January 2011

Higher earners saving for retirement through a company pension are at risk of seeing their employers' contributions cut - or the charges on their funds increased - if proposed European solvency rules are imposed on UK schemes.

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Bloomberg - 6th January 2011

U.K. pension funds invested a record 12.8 billion pounds ($20 billion) in gilts in the first three quarters of 2011, more than double the 5.6 billion pounds bought in the year-earlier period.

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HMRC - 6th January 2011

Pension Schemes Services (PSS) has today published an update to the QROPS list.

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Professional Pensions - 6th January 2011

Legal & General Investment Management has launched its first emerging market sovereign debt funds following surging demand from UK pension schemes.

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Professional Pensions - 6th January 2011

Mercer has restructured its investment business, integrating its global consulting and asset management businesses.

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Professional Pensions - 6th January 2011

The National Audit Office has opened an investigation into The Pensions Regulator’s handling of the defined contribution industry.

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Financial News - 6th January 2011

You heard the one about the pension scheme trustee who went to the pub to drown his sorrows just before Christmas?

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Financial Times - 6th January 2011

As British businesses brace themselves for a tough year, company pension deficits remain high on their list of worries. The UK's dwindling band of defined benefit schemes - Shell being the latest to close its final-salary scheme - have assets in ...

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Financial Markets - 5th January 2011

An independent pensions consultant claims that the government’s proposed reforms to public sector pensions will result in no cost savings whatsoever.

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Money Marketing - 5th January 2011

Pensions minister Steve Webb is facing up to the most important year of his political career.

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Reuters - 5th January 2011

The average UK pension fund booked a negative annual return for the first time since 2008 last year, nudged into the red by a marked rise in stock market volatility caused by the euro zone crisis...

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Professional Pensions - 5th January 2011

The government should suspend the use of enhanced transfer value exercises until an urgent review into the practice has been completed, argues Fidelity.

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Professional Pensions - 5th January 2011

The Pension Protection Fund is setting up a panel of administration firms in a bid to cut the time schemes spend in its assessment period.

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Professional Pensions - 5th January 2011

Government calculations on public sector pension savings have been labelled “fundamentally unsound” after independent analysis revealed increasing retirement ages failed to cut taxpayer costs.

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Pensions.co.uk - 5th January 2011

A yawning gap has developed between employees in the private and public sector, according to a survey by the Association of Consulting Actuaries.

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Professional Pensions - 5th January 2011

Strikes over public sector pension reforms will not solve the basic problem of affordability, delegates heard.

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Professional Pensions - 5th January 2011

A US crackdown on tax-dodgers could leave British schemes with an “administrative and costly nightmare”, a lawyer warns.

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Professional Pensions - 4th January 2011

Pension funds returned an average of 3% in 2011, with funds that have de-risked faring much better than those heavily exposed to equities, figures show...

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Pensions World - 4th January 2011

The gulf between private and public sector pensions is set to widen. While over 5m public sector employees enjoy open defined benefit (DB) pension schemes...

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Financial News - 4th January 2011

Nearly three quarters of UK employers are finding relations with The Pensions Regulator “challenging” or “more difficult,” according to a bleak survey of final salary pension scheme prospects published by the Assocation of Consulting Actuaries.

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Professional Pensions - 4th January 2011

Firms will have to commit an additional £600bn to their defined benefit schemes if Solvency II is enforced by the European Union, J.P. Morgan warns.

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Finance Markets - 4th January 2011

The private pension sector has suffered a ‘seismic collapse’ according to a survey by the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA).

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Financial Times - 3rd January 2011

Joanne Segars, NAPF chief executive, said: "The UK already has one of the best protected pensions systems in the world. Perversely, these new laws would make pensions for UK workers less generous and less secure." Mr Sweeting said the £600bn bill ...

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Financial Times - 3rd January 2011

UK companies are pulling back dramatically from supporting employee pensions, with contributions failing to keep pace with costs and a third of larger corporates saying they are looking to decrease their spending...

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Professional Pensions - 30th December 2011

In the final part of our run-down of the most read Professional Pensions Online articles in 2011, we look at the rest of the top 20 news stories during the year - those in first to tenth place.

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Money Marketing - 30th December 2011

Official Government figures show the number of working-age people saving into a private pension fell from 46 per cent in 2000 to 38 per cent last year.

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HMRC - 30th December 2011

The Venture Capital Trust (VCT) scheme, introduced in 1995, is one of two tax-based Venture Capital Schemes. The scheme is designed to encourage individuals to invest indirectly in a range of unquoted smaller, higher-risk trading companies, by investing through VCTs.

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HMRC - 30th December 2011

The Corporate Venturing Scheme (CVS) is aimed at companies considering direct investment, in the form of a minority shareholding, in small independent higher-risk trading companies or groups of such companies.

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