The Weekly Wrap: September 9 edition
A round-up of pensions industry stories published across the FT Group this week, from pensions being part of a package of changes rejected by Post Office workers, to Hargreaves Lansdown's refusal to sell annuities through its brokerage service.
The week in numbers
• 5m people can sell their future income for a lump sum or other pension product from April 2017
• Australia has scrapped plans for a £287,000 cap on contributions to superannuation funds
• Pension investments hit a record high in the second quarter of 2016 with inflows including transfers of £8.4bn
BlackRock issues climate change warning
FTfm: The world's largest asset manager has said that investors must step up their efforts in climate-aware investing and can no longer ignore the problems related to global warming. BlackRock suggested in a research paper that when deciding which companies to invest in, fossil fuel usage, water consumption and carbon emissions should play a bigger part in decision-making.
Hargreaves Lansdown rejects secondary annuities market service
FT: Hargreaves Lansdown's decision to not let customers sell annuities through its brokerage service comes as a blow to the government's plans to extend the pension freedoms. The fund supermarket said it believes selling an annuity is not in the interests of most consumers, and is also concerned about fraud. As of April 2017 5m people with annuities already paid out will be able to sell their future income for a lump sum, or another pension product.
Australia drops £287k pension contribution cap
FTAdviser: Australia's Treasury has scrapped draft legislation that would have limited the amount of money British expats could transfer into an Australian pension scheme. The policy, an AU$500,000 (£287,000) lifetime cap on contributions, was announced in May and aimed to reduce government spending on the country's generous superannuation tax concessions. However, experts said it was unlikely the government would return to the previous cap-free environment.
Pensions a factor in Post Office strike
fastFT: Pensions, branch closures and job cuts have prompted a one-day strike on September 15 by Post Office workers. The government-owned service also wants to close a generous defined benefit pension scheme next year and scale back its cash handling division. In addition, cost-cutting proposals and the transfer of outlets to the private sector will lead to the loss of a third of its 6,600-strong workforce.
Pension investments hit record high, says Equifax
FTAdviser: With £8.4bn of inflows, pension investments reached a record high in the second quarter of 2016, according to data from Equifax Touchstone. This was an increase of 6.2 per cent (£0.5bn) on the previous quarter. Self-invested personal pension, annuity and flexible drawdown investment sales rose, while personal pensions and individual stakeholder pensions fell over the quarter. The changes in investment behaviour come as increasing numbers of employees are being auto-enrolled.
Most read on pensions-expert this week
Ombudsman ruling highlights need for member understanding
Bushfire of pension discrimination cases spreads to firefighters
CAF exits multi-employer scheme to set up own fund
The shape of things to come: Could robo-advice transform pensions?
Scheme rules may block Treasury's advice allowance plans
Social media comment of the week
https://t.co/x1JBQN2Joq stand by your beds, here comes the Autumn Statement 23rd November #excited
— Tom McPhail (@PensionsMonkey) 8 September 2016