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The Friday Takeaway
Each week, Pensions Expert editor Nick Reeve rounds up the latest news and analysis from across the website and the industry. Sign up now to receive the latest blogs straight to your inbox on a Friday afternoon, and to receive our twice-weekly news bulletin.
From the editor's desk
The Friday Takeaway: DWP prepares some light holiday reading
Pensions Expert editor Nick Reeve looks forward (again) to a momentous week for the UK pensions sector.
The Friday Takeaway: Time for a Mansion House Adequacy Accord?
The government may find its options limited when trying to improve pensions adequacy, writes Pensions Expert editor Nick Reeve. It may be left to the industry to work on improving retirement outcomes.
The Friday Takeaway: We’ve got bills, they’re multiplying
Defined benefit pension schemes have been left rather upset by an unexpected bill, but could be rescued by a different Bill, as Pensions Expert editor Nick Reeve explores.
The Friday Takeaway: Mulling over the road to reform
We’re all geared up for pension reform after the publication of the Pension Schemes Bill, but we’re going to have to wait a while, as Pensions Expert editor Nick Reeve finds out.
The Friday Takeaway: Retirement riddles and toddlers’ trousers
This week brought news of post-retirement offerings from two major master trusts, as the industry attempts to solve a particularly vexing problem. Pensions Expert’s Nick Reeve, meanwhile, is worrying about trousers.
The Friday Takeaway: Reviews, roadmaps, deadlines and bills
The government’s reform agenda will take a long time to implement, as it set out this week. But for some - most notably the LGPS - the timeframes are not so long, as Pensions Expert’s editor Nick Reeve points out.
The Friday Takeaway: Backstop power is a sword of Damocles for the pensions sector
The government plans to give itself powers in the Pension Schemes Bill to intervene in scheme asset allocation and LGPS fund mergers. We should probably be worried, writes Pensions Expert editor Nick Reeve.
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Latest news from Pensions Expert
M&G backs £205m buy-in for Huntsman Pension Scheme
The deal insures the pensions of more than 660 retirees and deferred pensioners and was completed in the first quarter of 2025.
Administrators spared as HMRC adjusts IHT plans, but industry warns problems remain
Death in service benefits are excluded and reporting will not be the responsibility of administrators, according to HMRC’s draft legislation for changes to inheritance tax rules.
Pension funds bring in Australian ratings firm to support value for money work
SuperRatings – which assesses Australian superannuation funds – attended an industry event to help UK pension funds and regulators develop this country’s value for money regime.
Aviva launches ‘guided retirement’ offering for master trust members
Aviva is the latest company to introduce a flexible retirement product, with the Pension Schemes Bill requiring providers to offer default pension income solutions.
What the Pensions Commission will do – and what it won’t
The government has set out the terms of reference for the Pensions Commission, but also omitted several areas as being “out of scope” – which has led one former pensions minister to warn that the commission has “one arm tied behind its back”.
Church scheme secures £4m buy-in as smaller deals set to increase
New endgame options and macroeconomic conditions have slowed the bulk annuity market, according to Broadstone, but deals for smaller pension schemes are expected to continue to grow.
Meet the new Pensions Commission
The newly revived Pensions Commission will lead the government’s review into retirement adequacy. Pensions Expert looks at who’s on the panel and what they bring to the role.
Trustees urge Pensions Commission to consider housing and rental costs for retirees
The Association of Member Nominated Trustees has called for the new commission to incorporate housing costs into their research on pensions adequacy.