All Steve Webb articles – Page 9
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News
Industry finds no easy answers in dividends v deficits debate
Most FTSE 100 companies could clear their pension deficits in less than two years by withholding dividends, new research says. Experts have called for more focus on the contrast between dividend payments and deficit repair contributions, though others say there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
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Features
Brexit, pooling and transparency: Top investment stories from 2016
Year in review: Investment fees and the impact of Brexit on schemes’ portfolios stood out among the most salient subjects for pension schemes in 2016, while the ongoing low-yield environment prompted funds to seek higher returns and cut back on costs.
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Features
Consolidation and partial transfers put forward as funding pressures increase
Defined benefit funding levels have not improved over the past years as gilt yields have fallen, the latest edition of the Purple Book shows, with industry figures hailing partial transfers and scheme consolidation as possible solutions.
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News
Ownership or nudge? How to make auto-escalation work
The pensions industry and government must instil a sense of “personal ownership” over pensions in currently underprepared members if auto-enrolment is to achieve its aims, pensions minister Richard Harrington has said.
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NewsChancellor proposes ban on cold calling, refrains from pensions tax overhaul
In his first and last Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond swapped the timing of the Budget and the Statement but had comparatively little to say about pensions for now; one of the larger measures – a consultation into pensions fraud – was welcomed by the industry.
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News
Trustees not convinced by indexation change arguments
Trustees are overwhelmingly in favour of restructuring scheme benefit structures in response to the defined benefit crisis, a recent survey has suggested, but stop short of supporting a statutory override on increases of accrued benefits.
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News
Industry divided over CPIH
The Office for National Statistics has recently said it will make the consumer price index including owner-occupiers’ housing costs its preferred measure for gauging inflation next year, so should the government follow suit for pension indexation and revaluation?
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Opinion
Autumn (Statement) mood
From the blog: More than a month to go until the Autumn Statement, and the first shots are already being fired.
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Opinion
The savings crisis: Top-up v save more tomorrow
Analysis: The debate about tax relief on pension contributions and incentives for saving has kept industry and policymakers entertained (or unamused) for five or six years now.
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News
Nest drawdown proposals: Competitors fear disruption
The dust has settled on government's call for evidence on the expansion of Nest into the drawdown market, but it seems the war of words between industry professionals is far from over.
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Opinion
Should Nest expand into decumulation?
In July 2016, the Department for Work and Pensions launched a three-month consultation on the future of the Nest.
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News
CPI and RPI gap at largest for five years as schemes eye law change
The retail price index and consumer price index were the farthest apart they have been for five years in last month’s inflation figures, prompting debate that legislation could level the playing field for schemes using RPI for benefit increases.
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Opinion
No more short notice, please
The recent ‘changing of the guard’ at Downing Street has led to a major reorganisation of the government as a whole. The relevance of its impact on pensions policy is potentially very significant indeed.
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NewsSelect committees: Philip Green has 'moral duty' to help fix BHS pension deficit
A joint report published by the Work and Pensions Committee and the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee found negligence caused BHS’s pensions deficit, and opened the possibility of increasing the Pensions Regulator’s powers.
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NewsWebb: New face at DWP will not loosen Treasury's grip on pensions tax
Philip Hammond’s appointment as chancellor of the exchequer is unlikely to see the Department for Work and Pensions regain control of pensions reform, according to former pensions minister Steve Webb.
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News
Property or pension: Where downsizing could pay off
A new report warns people planning to downsize to smaller properties and using the proceeds to fund their retirements that the resulting income will only be a fraction of a workplace pension.
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OpinionPlaying the waiting game
Editorial: As the reality of the leave vote is sinking in, the British stiff upper lip is invoked incessantly by the pensions industry in an attempt to convince themselves and each other that things can’t be as bad as they are.
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Opinion
How to make the dashboard work
Barely a week seems to go by without a new report on pensions dashboards, but what are the implications for pension schemes of the chancellor’s commitment to have a dashboard in place by 2019?
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OpinionReconfiguring DC: The pensions dashboard
The Specialist: The pensions dashboard could be the upgrade the industry needs to take it into the digital age, but it is at risk of being just another expensive neglected technology project.
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News
Field’s proposal for scheme deficits bill raises pension cut fears
Former pensions minister Steve Webb has warned that a new bill proposed by Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field to deal with DB deficits – including by introducing flexible benefits – is a “worrying” development that could undermine people’s confidence in the pension system.