Are UK Final Salary Pensions doomed?
Final Salary (DB) pension plans were the cornerstone of employer provided retirement benefits for many years. Recently, however, issues of financial solvency have put the availability of these benefits in question.
According to the Financial Times, about 1,000 private-sector DB pension schemes, including 25 of the largest in the UK, are “highly unlikely” to pay their members’ pensions in full.
This frightening prediction comes as a result of a paper published in December 2015 by the Pensions Institute, a UK research body, which suggests that the number of troubled pension schemes is far higher than officially acknowledged.
So what is happening now?
In the few short months since December we have seen the very public failure of the BHS pension scheme and further troubles at Tata Steel. Now the UK Pension Regulator has published a report on DB pension funding which worryingly states that:
The average UK DB pension scheme has just over 82% of the money it needs to pay benefits in full to its members
Whilst average annual Deficit Reduction Contributions have increased by 14%, the median increase in liabilities is 33%
With the spectre of a possible Brexit and the uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming US Elections, it is hard to see how this is going to improve any time soon.
Should you panic?
Absolutely not, however you should take steps to review your pension to ensure you understand exactly how you are affected by all of this, and what you can do to secure your retirement.
What are your options?
Do nothing and hope for the best
Review your UK pensions to consider if you should:
Keep the pension(s) you have
Transfer your pension(s) to an alternative UK pension
Transfer your pension(s) to an offshore pension (QROPS)
The best course of action for you depends on many factors and requires a professional analysis of your existing pensions and your retirement intentions.
What should you do?
Contact your AAM Financial Planner now, or email wealthsolutions@aam-advisory.com to arrange a confidential review of your UK pensions and find out where you stand.
You will receive a detailed report outlining your options and explaining what you can do to protect your retirement and the steps you need to take to do so.
Ian Black
Head of Wealth Solutions
AAM Advisory Pte Ltd
Source:
This article is an op-ed piece by Ian Black
Facts and data sourced from:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/80a113e6-9fdf-11e5-beba-5e33e2b79e46.html#axzz48neMZlwn
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/scheme-funding-2015.pdf
http://www.pensions-institute.org/reports/GreatestGood.pdf
Disclaimer:
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