The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has called on whichever party ends up in government following the general election on 4 July 2024 to provide robust support for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. It recommends ensuring that the final funding code applicable to DB pension funds allows for flexibility of investment to allow DB funds to take more investment risk where this is appropriate, legislating for the introduction of Superfunds to ensure that the same level of protection is provided, and introducing regulations to support greater surplus sharing among DB schemes with robust protections of member benefits.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to provide urgent clarity on issues arising from the High Court ruling in the Virgin Media/NTL case impacting defined benefit (DB) schemes. In June 2023, the High Court ruled that a lack of evidence of actuarial confirmation would render relevant amendments to affected contracted-out DB pension schemes’ rules invalid and void. This was upheld by the Court of Appeal in July this year. The PLSA highlights that the ruling could lead to pension schemes having to carry out a ‘highly resource-intensive exercise’ to uncover records many years back that provide historical evidence of actuarial confirmations. In particular, a survey of PLSA members found that 35% of DB scheme respondents report the potential impact of the ruling to be ‘very significant’, 53% of respondents believe the ruling may have some impact on their ability to buy-out, and the overwhelming majority of schemes are seeking urgent clarity from the government through legislation or guidance.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a blog post calling on whichever party wins the upcoming general election on 4 July 2024 to support the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The post says that, due to the size and complexity of the LGPS, good governance is essential to ensure its long-term stability. It states that consolidation should play a part in its operation, producing lower costs, better administration and improved delivery of member services, to ensure that the LGPS is an effective and sustainable scheme for the benefit of its members, employers, and taxpayers who fund it.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a document outlining five key areas of the UK pensions system that a new government can take action on, within the first 100 days of government, to better secure the financial futures of savers currently saving towards retirement. These include: to support adequate pension saving, help savers navigate choices at retirement by introducing a statutory duty requiring trustees to offer decumulation support and guidance for savers, support well run defined benefit schemes, bridge the pensions and growth gap, and support the Local Government Pension Scheme.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has expressed support for the Chancellor's intention to reform inheritance tax (IHT) treatment of pensions, whilst highlighting significant concerns with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) proposals set to take effect in April 2027. The plans include applying IHT to certain pension lump sum death benefits and requiring pension schemes to act as tax administrators. The PLSA warns of potential unintended consequences, particularly for death-in-service payments and unmarried partners, and argues that making schemes responsible for IHT calculations and deductions would create unnecessary complexity. As an alternative approach, the PLSA proposes that estates should retain responsibility for IHT payments, with pension schemes providing guidance and calculations to ensure accuracy and prevent delays.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has commented on the Pensions Regulator's defined benefit (DB) funding code and superfund guidance, welcoming the final draft code and the published guidance. However, PLSA highlights that a slower timetable for schemes to use the code would be more practical.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a blog post encouraging the government to support adequate pension saving. The PLSA advocates for gradual increases in pension contributions over the next 10 years from the current 8% of earnings to 12% of all salary. The PLSA’s modelling predicts that the annual retirement income generated from the workplace pensions of a median earning man would increase from £6,200 to roughly £9,100 and from £5,700 to £8,300 for women. The PLSA also suggests that the government should extend automatic enrolment to allow for saving from the first pound of earnings from age 18, publish a roadmap for raising auto-enrolment contributions gradually over the next decade, and bring forth an Employment Bill to set out the scope of auto-enrolment.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published its comments on the government's response to the Mansion House reforms. These involve the Final Report of the Pensions Investment Review and three government responses to consultations on ‘Unlocking the UK Pensions Market for Growth,’ ‘Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales): Fit for the Future,’ and ‘Options for Defined Benefit Schemes.’ In particular, the reforms aim to accelerate the consolidation of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, leading to fewer fragmented DC schemes, and to make significant modifications to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), including the introduction of mandatory pooling. The government reforms also include measures to introduce defined benefit (DB) surplus flexibilities that would unlock surplus funds for the benefit of employers, members, and the broader economy.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has identified five key areas for pension reform it is calling on the next government to action following the outcome of the upcoming election on 4 July 2024. The areas signposted by the PLSA are supporting adequate pension saving, helping savers navigate choices at retirement, supporting well-run defined benefit schemes, bridging the pensions and growth gap, and supporting the Local Government Pension Scheme. It says that the government should focus on these areas in its first 100 days in power to ensure that the financial futures of pension savers are better secured.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has launched an introductory guide to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) that aims to help new councillors understand the broader framework of the scheme and their involvement. The guide sets out the roles and responsibilities of councillors and other key players, the scheme structure and funding, the key functions of regulatory bodies in overseeing the LGPS, and a summary of important policy areas that apply to the LGPS.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has outlined ten key recommendations aimed at increasing pension investments in UK assets, in response to the government's Pension Investment Review. The recommendations include investment incentives such as making greater use of blended finance, expanding the Long-Term Investment for Technology and Science initiative, and co-investment vehicles with British Patient Capital. Recommendations also include fiscal incentives such as reducing the effective tax rate for pensions in holding UK shares by allowing a tax credit on dividend payments, a discount on Pension Levies for pension investments in certain sectors, and incentives for net zero investment. The initiatives address concerns regarding the UK pension sector's under-investment in British companies.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a report ‘Pensions and Growth: Creating a Pipeline of Investable UK Opportunities’ setting out practical recommendations to create the necessary investment conditions for pension schemes to allocate a greater portion of the nation’s retirement savings to promising UK growth areas.