Monthly Archives: March 2023

How we turned pensions from “economic miracle” to “uniquely horrible”.

Posted on March 28, 2023 by henry tapper

In the final years of the last millenium, defined benefit pension schemes were described by Frank Field, then a Government Minister as “Britain’s great economic miracle”.  A quarter of a century later they are described in an FT headline as … Continue reading →

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Taxes for the rich – benefits for all

Posted on March 27, 2023 by henry tapper

The FT’s Lex column is upset about the universal state pension which like the universal post, is the same wherever it applies in the United Kingdom While it is more expensive for the Royal Mail to deliver a letter posted … Continue reading →

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Shell’s failure to keep its pension promise appears in the public domain Paddy Briggs

Posted on March 27, 2023 by henry tapper

  The senior management of Shell is used to dealing with criticism – enormous profits, high levels of remuneration for top executives and continuing criticism of their environmental record and plans come with the job. But this story on UK … Continue reading →

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Do we ever save enough to stop work?

Posted on March 26, 2023 by henry tapper

  I am not at all sure that most people ever feel secure enough to pack work in. So I found Ali Hussain’s article in the Times , depicting fifty somethings rushing to the door at the prospect of higher … Continue reading →

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Are pension funding levels just too good to be true?

Posted on March 26, 2023 by henry tapper

Edi Truell’s question is one that this blog has been asking for a while now. When Dr Iain Clacher quoted a figure of £500bn as the loss incurred by UK pension schemes from interest rate rises at the Work and … Continue reading →

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Does the Consumer Duty apply to workplace pensions?

Posted on March 26, 2023 by henry tapper

The short answer is “yes” – and “it’s about to do so a whole lot more“. The DWP’s consultation on measures for a new value for money framework, which closed on March 27th, sets out three tests for workplace and … Continue reading →

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The Costs of LDI – Keating and Clacher

Posted on March 25, 2023 by henry tapper

Iain Clacher and Con Keating The ONS has just published its Financial Survey of Pension Schemes (FPFS) as of September 30th 2022. At the end of December 2021, the ONS reported net pension assets of £1,821 billion which was essentially … Continue reading →

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From House to Hostel – a blog from rural Perthshire

Posted on March 25, 2023 by henry tapper

I find myself in rural Perthshire, having been whisked from the metropolis by Thameslink, the Luton Express , Easyjet and Alamo rent-a-car. The quiet in unnerving and the view from the window of the old school house hostel enervating. A … Continue reading →

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USS and Exhaustion – Con Keating

Posted on March 25, 2023 by henry tapper

  Shortly after it was published in early March by USS, I was asked to review their note “USS briefing: Capital funding and exhaustion risk – distribution of outcomes”. The stated reason for it was: “This briefing note provides details … Continue reading →

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To shift focus from price to value , we need new measures for “value”.

Posted on March 24, 2023 by henry tapper

As I am in the Highlands of Scotland on Monday (the last day of the DWP’s consultation on its VFM framework), I will be submitting AgeWage’s response today.  This blog is about the most important thing the VFM framework can … Continue reading →

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