The Weekly Wrap: April 15 edition

Rothesay Life to take £6bn liabilities from Aegon

FT: Rothesay Life is to take on responsibility for £6bn of pension liabilities from Dutch insurer Aegon’s UK business, Scottish Equitable. The deal will give Rothesay responsibility for more than 400,000 members' pensions and is expected to double the amount of new business it received in 2015. The news forms part of a wider trend of insurers selling off parts of their businesses to adapt to new Solvency II capital rules.

Belgian airport closed over pensions row

FT: Workers at Brussels Airport have protested over a union deal that includes raising the minimum age for early retirement from 55 to 58. Air traffic controllers called in sick on Tuesday, bringing the international airport to a standstill. The strike comes just weeks after the suicide bombing in the airport’s departure lounge, and has contributed to views that Zaventem airport has become a symbol of Belgium’s security dysfunction.

HMRC’s Aussie pension rules flagged

FTAdviser: Experts have described HM Revenue & Custom’s policy for UK-Australian pension transfers as “no checks, based only on trust”. There are concerns that not all Australian recognised overseas pension schemes re-entering the UK tax office’s list meet HMRC’s and the Australian Taxation Office’s rules. The number of Rops now entering the UK from Australia totals 137.

NHS trust scraps cash-for-pensions scheme

FT: Oxleas NHS Trust has decided to close an “alternative pay scheme” used to hire nurses. The scheme, which allowed newly qualified nurses to give up their pension rights in return for a higher salary, was referred to the Pensions Regulator over concerns the deal was in breach of government policy. The opt-out offer was made to existing staff and 93 new recruits. Ros Altmann, pensions minister, said it was unacceptable for employers to entice staff out of their pensions.

Negative rates may be nearing a political limit

FT: José Viñals, a senior International Monetary Fund official, has warned that negative interest rates are undermining the viability of life insurers, pensions and savings vehicles, and could be damaging for society if they persist. Some banks in Japan are set to impose charges on cash they hold for pension funds, while anger at pensioner poverty in Germany is being directed at European Central Bank policies. 

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