The IFoA has been regulating its members and promoting professionalism since the second half of the 19th century, and that role is integral to the standing in which our members are held. Several senior members and actuaries from across the profession share why they are proud of the standard that our members work to.
Up to 35 million savers now have access to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)’s Retirement Living Standards through their pension scheme’s communications.
The impact of Covid-19 on mortality can be broadly split into three categories: direct impacts; indirect impacts; and wider social and economic impacts. Indirect impacts represent excess deaths due to stresses on the health system or changes in the health-seeking behaviour of individuals. These are the focus of this article. At this stage of the pandemic, the mortality impacts are likely to shift from direct to indirect and we must be forensic in analysing emerging data to identify the magnitude of these impacts and the extent to which they are asymmetric across the population.
MPs heard last week that the value of the opportunity provided by the global transition to Net Zero was potentially large enough to double the size of the London insurance market.
New analysis from leading online pension provider, PensionBee, reveals that over a third (35%) of new customers made in-app pension contributions via ‘easy bank transfer’, between 1 February and 30 April 2022.
New Freedom of Information (FOI) data from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) gathered by wealth manager, Quilter, reveals an acceleration in the number of MaPS scam guidance sessions following new pension transfer rules introduced in November 2021, but indicates amber flags are being raised on potentially low-risk transfers relating to overseas investments.
With the increase in regulatory and governance requirements for defined contribution schemes, we have seen a significant increase in the volume of transfers to Master Trust arrangements. We expect this trend to continue. Hannah Beacham from Gowling WLG and Shabna Islam from Hymans Robertson will give an overview and look at some of the tricky issues that can arise.
Recognising how the underwriting value chain is set to evolve, and the new skills necessary to support product innovation, is vital for your business to remain competitive. Whether it’s supporting brokers and clients, or exploiting high-quality data to make better decisions, the role of the underwriter is key to being profitable and has already seen rapid changes.
In the insurance industry, it is a cliché to say that ‘life assurance is sold, not bought’ This phrase is used in reference to pure protection products, and the need for commission in order to sell these products to the low-income sector. But there is a reason that clichés exist; at their heart, there is generally a fundamental truth. In the case of the above statement, this is certainly the case; few people leap out of bed in the morning with a burning desire to buy life assurance.
Research finds significant generational divide in attitudes to ESG Investments. Majority of all age groups want to see younger generation get better financial education in school. The need for a tech enabled mobile investment app has never been greater
Early this year, I started playing Wordle. If you don’t know, it’s a simple word game where you have six attempts to guess a hidden five-letter word. After each try you get information about how the letters in your guess relate to those in the hidden word. Being the actuary I am, I wrote some simple code to see how best to use the guesses. And I discovered some parallels for investment. Writing any code forces you to clarify your thoughts precisely.
The ACA has responded to the DWP consultation on Facilitating Investment in Illiquid Assets. The response recognises the benefits that investing in illiquid assets may bring to members of DC schemes, but says it isn’t convinced that the proposals to incorporate statements in oft ignored compliance documents will facilitate their adoption.
XPS Pensions Group has promoted four new Partners across its risk settlement, corporate advisory and trustee governance services businesses as well as its facilities and procurement functions. The new partners are Vicki Hayter, Sameena Malik, Simon Reddish and Ash Williams.
Legal & General Assurance Society Limited (“Legal & General”) today announces that it has agreed a £4.4 million full-scheme buy-in with the Trans-European Port Services Limited 1974 Pension Scheme ("TEPS") (“the Scheme”), securing the benefits for six pension scheme members.
Mercer has announced the appointment of Nikhil Patel as a Senior Principal in the Risk Transfer team. In his new role, Mr Patel will advise clients on how to most effectively manage their pension risk, either through bulk annuity, member option exercises, longevity swap, or other alternatives. Based in London, Mr Patel will report to Andrew Ward, Partner and Risk Transfer and DB Journey Planning Leader.
New analysis from PensionBee, reveals that average quarterly withdrawal amounts for all customers declined by over 10%, from £13,132 in Q1 2021 to £11,676 in Q1 2022. Both male and female savers opted to keep more of their pension invested as their withdrawal rates decreased by 10% and 12% respectively.
Commenting on the DWP consultation “Facilitating investment in illiquid assets by defined contribution pension schemes”, Callum Stewart, Head of DC Investment, says:
From the GI Board, to GILL, GIRTL and the GIRO Conference, Zoe Bolton will be talking to the actuaries who dedicate their time, and contribute to the continuous development of the actuarial community, and getting an insight into their career paths and visions for the future. This month Zoe talks to Camilla Bennett, CRO at AXA Insurance UK
The Queen’s Speech included the Financial Services and Markets Bill which will revoke EU regulation on financial services and replace it with one designed for the UK. This will include reforming Solvency II which is already the subject of an ongoing consultation. Solvency II governs how much capital insurance companies must hold and the types of assets they can invest in. Loosening of the regulation could add a further boost to annuity rates which have already been on the rise in recent months.
In 2012 Mr Russell Adams transferred his existing pension to a SIPP with Carey Pensions UK and instructed them to invest £50,000 in Store First, an unregulated investment. He did this following ‘advice’ given by an unregulated introducer, and Carey Pensions UK (since bought over and rebranded as Options UK Personal Pensions LLP) treated it as an execution only investment. In the 10 years since that transaction, considerable legal time and effort has gone into deciding who was ultimately responsible when Mr Adams suffered a loss on this investment.