The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust has released findings from their latest reports of the Pensions Review detailing expected reforms to be contained in the forthcoming Pension Schemes Bill. The IFS Pensions Review, as distinguished from the government’s review, is a 2½-year project to comprehensively assess the consequences of current pension policy, the economic environment and individual behaviour for the future of living standards in retirement. The IFS Pensions Review findings outline that legislation will require pension providers to implement default retirement income solutions, introducing a ‘flex then fix’ model where pensioners can draw down flexibly early in retirement before annuitising at age 75-80. The IFS Pensions Review notes that median defined contribution pension wealth is projected to increase from £75,000 for those born in the early 1960s to £130,000 for those born in the late 1970s, highlighting the growing importance of effective pension wealth management.

Law360: The government needs to introduce reforms to boost the level of pension contributions among self-employed workers, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has welcomed the relaunch of the new Pensions Commission and review into savings adequacy, seeing it as a much-needed step given the risks facing the retirement incomes of today’s working-age population. IFS argue that after two decades of significant changes, it is vital to critically reassess current pension policies and individual saving behaviours—concerns that have only grown over time. The IFS therefore sees the government’s current initiative as ‘long overdue’ and timely in preventing complacency among policymakers and in ensuring a secure retirement future. The IFS has been addressing adequacy issues through its own pensions review, conducted in partnership with abrdn Financial Fairness Trust over the past two years and issued recommendations for reform in its final report published on 2 July 2025. In that regard, the IFS sees it final report as offering a comprehensive set of recommendations to guide the Commission’s own review work.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) concluded its 46th Council Meeting and 23rd General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco, chaired by governor of Bank Al-Maghrib and IFSB council chair for 2025, Abdellatif Jouahri. The meetings reaffirmed the IFSB’s commitment to addressing regulatory gaps and strengthening capacity development across the Islamic financial services industry, with a renewed focus on structural resilience, non-bank financial segments, and implementation of IFSB standards. More than 130 representatives from IFSB member institutions attended the meetings, which also featured capacity-building workshops, the Islamic Financial Stability Forum, and the second IFSB Consultative Group meeting.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is consulting on its exposure draft of the technical note on macroprudential tools for institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS) (Banking Segment). The IFSB invites comments from central banks, regulatory and supervisory authorities, international organisations, financial market players, IIFS, academics and other interested parties. Responses are sought by 5 July 2024.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has issued for consultation an Exposure Draft (ED) of the Guidance Note on Climate-related Financial Risks for Institutions Offering Islamic Financial Services (Banking Segment), referred to as GN-11. This Guidance Note aims to assist regulatory and supervisory authorities in applying the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (BCBS) principles for managing and supervising climate-related financial risks, with a focus on the unique aspects of Islamic banking operations. It provides additional guidance on how climate-related risk drivers may differently affect the risk profile of institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS). A public hearing via webinar is scheduled for 16 April 2025 to present the consultation material and address stakeholder questions. Responses are sought by 8 May 2025.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has published the 29th dissemination of country-level Prudential and Structural Islamic Financial Indicators (PSIFIs) data from Q4 2013 to Q3 2023 on the Islamic banking sector. It covers full-fledged Islamic banks and Islamic windows of conventional banks in the respective jurisdictions.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) Pensions Board has published An actuarial roadmap for better retirement outcomes, setting out the actuarial profession’s recommendations for improving retirement outcomes as the UK pensions system undergoes significant reform. The roadmap highlights five priorities: delivering effective pensions reform, improving pension adequacy, supporting sustainable investment, helping Defined Benefit (DB) schemes adapt to changing funding positions, and encouraging innovation across the pensions system. It states that actuaries can support policymakers, trustees, employers and providers through long-term modelling, risk management and evidence-based decision-making.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), alongside Standard Life, Nest, Pensions UK and The People’s Partnership, has set out plans to bring pension savers directly into the policymaking process, following the publication of a New Citizen Project (NCP) report calling for deliberative public engagement on pensions reform. This group is exploring the feasibility of convening a citizens’ assembly or similar deliberative process, bringing together a representative group of savers to engage with expert evidence, weigh complex trade-offs and produce informed recommendations. The aim is to ensure that lived experience, values and preferences are reflected in key policy questions such as adequacy targets, contribution levels, risk-sharing and fairness. The strategic objective is to provide the Pensions Commission with deeper, public-informed insight on difficult trade-offs and to strengthen the legitimacy and durability of future reforms by grounding them in citizen deliberation. This approach is also intended to address gaps in current policymaking by ensuring that underrepresented voices are included.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has published a report by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) examining how defined contribution (DC) guided retirement solutions should be designed to support members in converting pension savings into a regular lifetime income. The report considers four broad retirement designs against evidence on pension decision-making and finds that designs requiring members to make active decisions later in life risk failing because of inertia and cognitive decline. It considers drawdown, annuities, flex and fix, and retirement collective defined contribution (CDC), concluding that flex and fix, where the secured-income element is automated or defaulted, and retirement CDC can provide longevity protection without relying on active later-life decisions. The report also recommends testing how the tax-free lump sum is incorporated into the guided retirement journey and designing defaults so that the outcome for a member who takes no action remains appropriate. The report follows the Pension Schemes Act 2026, which requires trustees of DC schemes to provide default guided retirement solutions, with regulations expected in 2028 and compliance requirements applying from 2029 for master trusts and 2030 for single-employer trusts and certain other schemes.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), in partnership with Ipsos, has published research calling for urgent reform of the UK pension system to better reflect modern working lives. The report finds that the current system, designed for uninterrupted careers with single employers, systematically disadvantages self-employed individuals, part-time workers, and those with disrupted work patterns, contributing to persistent pension gaps and increased risk of retirement poverty. Drawing on filmed interviews and actuarial analysis, the study reveals that these gaps are rooted in systemic design rather than personal choice. It recommends measures such as flexible auto-enrolment for the self-employed, early savings initiatives, improved communication around life events, community-based pension models, and a national pensions literacy strategy. These proposals aim to ensure the system remains inclusive, adaptable, and capable of delivering adequate retirement income for all.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has launched a new thematic review exploring how actuarial advice is evolving in response to the new pensions funding regime from 2024 and wider developments across the pensions landscape (such as collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes and pension superfunds).