Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Invest in schools through private finance initiatives
UK local authority pension funds officials are currently looking at the possibility of investing in schools throughout the UK through private finance initiatives, which of course, would be a huge development for the UK Education system.
The legalities are just being drawn up, but there is a good chance that the deals may start to take place throughout 2009.
Invest in schools through private finance initiatives
UK local authority pension funds officials have been in discussions with a quasi-government body about the prospect of investing in the building of UK schools through private finance initiatives (PFIs).
A spokeswoman for Partnerships for Schools, a quasi-government body created to manage the building of schools through PFIs, said it has been approached by local government pension fund advisers to consider whether they would be willing to include pension fund assets as an investment route for the building of schools.
Pensions are old
I see here they mention that half of the 39% of the participants in the survey, saying that they did not have a pension in place are under 18 years old.
While I think it might be a good idea to have something small in place, it is not surprising to see under 18’s without a pension. After all, which teenager is going to miss their big night out with friends to put £40 into a pension fund, that after inflation and a few years, will be worth next to nothing!
In a survey of 2,000 adults, Fairinvestment.co.uk has found that 39 per cent do not have a pension plan in place, and 20 per cent of those with a pension have had to reduce their contributions or stop paying into it since the credit crunch began
Nearly half of the 39 per cent surveyed who admitted to not having a pension in place were under the age of 18.
Follow BAe Systems’ lead on pensions
It is good to see that some employers actually respect their employers and will do everything in their power to ensure the likes of pensions stay as stable as possible for the future.
It would be even better to see a few other major players in employment follow BAe Systems’ example.
Follow BAe Systems’ lead on pensions
Unite, the UK’s biggest aerospace and engineering union, today (Monday) welcomed BAe Systems’ announcement that it will not be changing any benefits or asking workers to increase their contributions.
This good news comes despite an increase in deficit of the BAe pension scheme.
Fear of pension scheme’s
Many businesses are worried that pension schemes could have more of a negative affect on their business, than a positive one.
This comes after statistics revealed that around 90 percent of companies expressed they were worried about the affect pensions schemes would have on their business.
Nine out of 10 companies are worried about the impact their pension scheme will have on their business, research showed.
Around 90% of firms that still offer a defined benefit pension said they were concerned that the scheme’s trustees would ask them to increase their contributions to it at a time when they can least afford it.
Rolls Royce feel the wrath of pension deficit
Several civil aircraft manufacturers have began to see a slow down in their revenue thanks to the uncertainty and insecurity that surrounds the pension markets.
The current uncertainty has led to companies such as Rolls Royce loosing huge chunks of their original share value.
Rolls Royce feel the wrath of pension deficit
Rolls-Royce lost 12p to 321¾p amid worries that positive full-year results on Thursday would be ruined by a widened pension deficit and uncertainty over future demand for civil aircraft.
Dennis Jullens, a UBS analyst, reiterated “sell” advice with a 282p price target saying that although the aero-engine maker has moved much of its pension assets out of equities, there is a rump exposure that could drastically widen a pension funding gap.
Pension deficits retreat
The property market saw a slight recovery in January, with a slight rise in house value throughout the month, and the Pension sector is seeing a similar positive outlook.
January saw The Pension Protection Fund announce their deficit decrease by £4bn, now standing at £191bn.
The position of the UK‘s private sector, final salary, pension schemes improved slightly in January.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) said their collective deficit shrank from £195bn in December to £191bn.
Pension buy outs slow down
Aon Consulting are suggesting that throughout 2009, the Pension buy out market is likely to slow considerably; definitely not the only market in difficulty.
2008 was a good year for the pension buy out market, where both the value of deals and the actual number of deals saw a huge increase, something that is likely to swap around for 2009.
The U.K. pension buyout market will slow this year despite record growth in 2008, according to an analysis by Aon Consulting.
The burgeoning bulk annuities market rose in terms of both the value and number of deals in 2008, with 273 deals worth £8.2 billion ($12.1 billion), up from 259 deals worth £2.8 billion in 2007.
UK pension challenge
The pension scheme alongside the UK banking sector is slowly falling to pieces and it is only a matter of time before pension plans start to evaporate.
Employers in the UK are about to experience the same strictures as their Australian counterparts in dealing with the superannuation guarantee following passage of the legislation underpinning a so-called Personal Accounts scheme.
And according to UK research house Datamonitor, the new scheme will test both employers and the UK Government even before it is introduced in 2012.
Prepare for a better return on your pension
Again, great news for pensioners investing in these funds, as they are seeing their cash slowly grow rather than slowly decline.
Prepare for a better return on your pension
Pension plans across the U.K. face an “extraordinarily bruising year” and need to prepare for several challenges, according to a report by global consulting and investment services firm Mercer.
The average U.K. pension fund lost 9.8 percent in returns last year, the first time that the country’s pension funds recorded negative yearly returns since a decade ago, according to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing. Long-term performance showed U.K. pension funds returned 6.6 percent over five years and 4.2 percent over 10 year, said the study released late Thursday.
Pensioners win!
Finally, something is been giving back to the pensioners who are being made to struggle so much lately!
A lot of pensioners have relyed on the value of their property to keep them going through their later life, which is simply not an option any more.
Yesterday the Government finally agreed to give compensation to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who saw up to half of the value of their pension pots vanish after Equitable was forced to close to new business in 2000.
But while Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, apologised for “injustices for policyholders” caused by government failures to properly regulate the society, a legitimate question to ask is: what took the Government so long?