Pensions in United Kingdom Report
In-depth reporting and analysis of the pensions sector in the United Kingdom for our pension fund and asset management readers from IPE’s award-winning journalists.
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Country ReportUK country report 2025: Defined benefit pension schemes face surplus unlock dilemma
Defined benefit pension schemes could face some tough decisions on how to deal with surpluses if planned legislative changes to ease access come into effect
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Country ReportRailpen CEO on board for member focus
New CEO’s sights are trained on member outcomes as the organisation looks ahead to a simpler rail sector under public ownership
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Country ReportUK government pushes for further consolidation of Local Government Pension Scheme pools
The Labour government has laid down the gauntlet for the existing eight pools managing almost £400bn of local government pension assets to consolidate further
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Country ReportVirtue or folly? UK pension funds eye domestic market investments
Canada, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Australia all have considerable pension assets invested in their local economies – is it time for the UK to follow suit?
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Country ReportInnovation reshapes the UK pension risk transfer market
Spurred on by improved DB scheme funding, the market has seen both new entrants and returnees
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NewsPhoenix Group and Schroders team up to launch private markets firm
Future Growth Capital is first private market investment manager to be established in the UK to promote objectives of Mansion House Compact
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Country ReportUK Country Report 2024: Is buyout still the gold standard for pension funds?
Improved funding positions mean more DB schemes are considering run-on rather than off-loading their liabilities
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Country ReportMercer’s upbeat vision for UK pension funds and their investment advisers
James Lewis, UK CIO at Mercer, is optimistic about the future of the UK’s DB and DC industries
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Country ReportHow consolidation might affect the UK’s local government pension sector
There is political consensus on the need for local government pension schemes to merge, but the question of in-house asset management is less straightforward
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Country ReportBridging the stewardship gap between companies and investors
Findings of research into how well corporates and investors communicate
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Country ReportSolvency UK: tweaks likely to bring only marginal gains
The UK’s reforms of the Solvency II framework are unlikely to be enough to usher in a big wave of investment in domestic productive assets by insurers
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Country ReportProgress report on the UK’s Mansion House capital market reforms
Details of potential changes to the UK’s pension landscape have been thin on the ground
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Country ReportCountry Report – Pensions in UK (May 2023)
UK pensions are at a crucial juncture. The UK Parliament’s inquiry into the LDI crisis of September 2022 shed some light on its causes, but the debate on the role of LDI is alive and well. Meanwhile, regulators including The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority have advised pension schemes on how to make LDI strategies more resilient to shocks.
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Country Report
UK: One way for DC schemes to access private markets
There is much debate about mark-to-model valuation methodologies and whether a material economic downturn will cause these to catch up with public market price falls, but the history books will show that portfolios with allocations to private markets were more robust than those with none in 2022 – the worst year on record for traditional balanced portfolios.
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Country ReportUK: Can the country turn a flawed investment ecosytem around?
Decades of complex legislation has fuelled many unanticipated consequences, which has seen pension funds invest less in riskier listed equities and illiquid assets
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Country ReportUK: to barbell or not to barbell?
In the new world of lower LDI leverage, trustees must choose between maintaining hedging or diversification
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Country ReportUK: Beware the unintended consequences of the DB funding code
Laura McLaren highlights the unintended consequences of TPR’s proposed code, and what can be done to mitigate the risks
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Country ReportUK: The case for pooling
Successful pooled schemes such as Border to Coast should be open to other clients because they are good at what they do
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Country ReportUK: DC investment won't be a panacea for tech and science
The UK government’s March Budget contained plans to boost investment in high-growth industries such as digital, life sciences and advanced manufacturing, so they can start, scale up and remain in the UK.
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Country ReportUK: A review of the LDI debacle
The UK Parliamentary inquiry into the LDI crisis has shed light on its causes, but the debate over the lessons learned for the UK DB industry is far from over
