
The Government is to alter the inflation index used to calculate payments from many company pension schemes. The measure, which could affect up to half of UK company pensions, will mean less pension income for members

The Government is to alter the inflation index used to calculate payments from many company pension schemes. The measure, which could affect up to half of UK company pensions, will mean less pension income for members
The government is to raise the Basic State Pension age by 1 year every 5 years, to reach 70 in 2035. Anyone aged 45 or younger will now be unable to take their Basic State Pension until they reach 70.
Private sector employees would have to save 37% of their earnings, to achieve the same levels of pension income as a public sector employee in a final salary pension scheme, according to new data by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC). However, only 6% of private companies are intending to keep their final salary schemes open, intending instead to replace them with [...]
Up to 69% of employers confess they still do not understand the requirements and cost implications of auto-enrolment of employees into a pension from 2012 – even though the admin alone could cost £1,000 per worker, per year.
A third of us with pension plans do not know how they are invested, a further quarter ‘don’t care’, and half of us would need a pension pot of more than £10,000, before seeking financial advice. Survey shows a shocking level of ‘pensions indifference’ in the UK. Click headline for more details!

As BP’s share price nosedives due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, pensions income from UK pension funds with large holdings in BP is suffering. A projected pensions income of £15,000 a year could have lost £400.
Government is looking again at plans for company pensions in the NEST scheme. Pensions minister Steve Webb has said he will review the ‘scope’ of the scheme, which currently aims to offer company pensions universally, to all employees.
Nationwide’s deficit in its company pension scheme increased from £40m to £331m last year. Nationwide is the latest company to be hit by spiralling pensions commitments, as high quality but high cost final salary pension schemes are closed across the nation. Read more about the decline of the final salary pension here
Fifteen of the FTSE 100 companies now have company pensions liabilities that are greater than the equity market value of the company. Experts predict that this spells the end of the final salary pension scheme.
















