A summer to forget: KPMG reputation dealt another blow after admitting to compliance report misconduct September 19, 2018 Scandal-hit KPMG has admitted to misconduct over compliance reports made for a unit of the Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon Group in another fresh embarrassment for one of the Big Four accountancy firms. The UK’s accountancy watchdog said today that KPMG and one of its partners Richard Hinton accepted they had fallen short of standards [...]
Not what the doctor ordered: Spire suffers profit hit amid drop in NHS referrals September 18, 2018 UK private healthcare provider Spire was diagnosed with falling profits in the first six months of 2018, as a drop in referrals from the NHS ate away at the company’s projected core earnings. Spire Healthcare Group’s share price tumbled more than six per cent in early morning trading, after the firm predicted full-year expected earnings [...]
Former BHS boss Chappell begins pensions conviction appeal September 17, 2018 Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell was today accused of trying to “muddy the waters” in his appeal against a conviction for failing to provide information to the UK’s pensions watchdog about a hole in BHS’s pensions scheme. Prosecutors told the court that Chappell’s appeal was a “cynical attempt to rewrite history”, the Financial Times reported. [...]
Social care funding crisis could be solved by new pensions-style payments, says health secretary September 17, 2018 A social care insurance scheme is being considered by the Conservatives to help tackle the crisis in elderly health provision. The scheme, first revealed by Morning Wire in July, would see workers paying in to a dedicated national care fund to help cover the growing cost of social care. Read more: The government has a [...]
Former Pension Protection Fund chair Lawrence Churchill joins newly formed Clara Pensions September 17, 2018 Former chairman of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) Lawrence Churchill was today appointed as the inaugural chairman of emerging consolidator firm Clara Pensions. The industry figure will bring 40 years experience to the role at the company, which consolidates company's historic defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. Clara says it acts as a "bridge" for members [...]
UK pensions deficits: FTSE 100 firms fear pension pain as workers retire September 6, 2015 Pension schemes represent a “material risk” for many of the largest companies in the FTSE 100, new research shows. Six firms, including BAE Systems, British Airways-owner International Airlines Group, RSA and Royal Bank of Scotland, all have total disclosed pension liabilities almost double their equity market value, so says JLT Employee Benefits’ quarterly report [...]
Pensioners shun Lamborghini lifestyle as savers opt for sound investments September 3, 2015 Fears that savers would blow their pension pots after new freedoms were introduced have failed to materialise, according to new figures that show Brits opting for sounder investments. Savers took £2.5bn out of their pensions, about £27m a day, during three months following new rules that came into place in April. Yet, during the [...]
Fossil Fuel divestment: The feel-good climate change policy that would undermine public pension funds September 2, 2015 Most would agree that climate change could pose a threat to the economy. However, measures to combat it will ultimately prove counter-productive if they conflict with the interests of the taxpayer. Forcing government to pursue losses from taxpayer-funded investments in the name of environmentalism, for example, would be an obvious misuse of public [...]
A pensions perfect storm is brewing – but longer lives needn’t prove a nightmare August 26, 2015 An old friend recently confided that there is one thing he is afraid of more than death – and that is living too long. Longer lifespans and low interest rates can combine to make retirement a potential nightmare of penury. Public finances face a related challenge. According to IMF research, public pension expenditure [...]
UK company pension deficits could not be plugged by annual salary of every UK employee August 17, 2015 The annual salary of every employee in the UK couldn't pay off the pension deficit of its private companies which has more than tripled in the last 15 years. The combined shortfall of the UK private sector's defined benefit schemes stands at around £900bn, up from £250bn at the start of the millennium, despite millions [...]