Pensions analysis: On 14 December 2023 the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) published a policy statement setting out its conclusions on its consultation on the 2024/25 levy. It also published the final rules and accompanying guidance and forms for the 2024/25 levy. Katherine Carter and Edward Jewitt of Mayer Brown International LLP examine the published final rules, the implications for pension schemes and what happens next.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has released The DC Future Book 2025: The Essential Guide to the Latest DC Market Data, authored by Shantel Okello and Mariana Garcia Requejo. Now in its eleventh edition, the report presents an updated analysis of the UK Defined Contribution (DC) pensions landscape in a new slide-deck format. It highlights that by June 2025, 11.3 million employees had been automatically enrolled, while 11.8 million workers remained ineligible. Trust-based DC schemes now account for 88% of active memberships, and total DC assets have reached £1.2tn.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The Court of Appeal has determined issues surrounding the completion of individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and the impact of such completion on the recovery of the proceeds of a debtor’s payment protection insurance mis-selling claim which was unrecovered (and unknown) prior to the completion. Paul French of Paul.French.Insolvency, who acted for the IVA supervisor, reviews the Court of Appeal’s decision.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published the fifth and final report in its ‘From Payslip to Pension: Life Course Impacts on Retirement Saving Among Low Earners’ research series. The report on ‘The policy challenge of saving for low earners’ finds that no single reform to automatic enrolment thresholds can fully protect all low earners from pensions inadequacy or financial vulnerability during working life. It also concludes that fiscal drag has reduced the real value of the automatic enrolment thresholds and made their underlying policy objectives less clear.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has launched a survey to support the publication of a Briefing Note to update and expand the coverage of its 2022 Briefing Note on ‘Lost pensions: What’s the scale and impact?’. The survey intends to provide an analysis of the landscape on the lost pensions challenge prior to the introduction of pensions dashboards. Responses must be submitted by 19 August 2024. The PPI has also issued a survey on defined contribution (DC) asset allocation aimed at investment professionals. The PPI intends to produce a central, publicly available, source that will collate data on how asset strands within DC schemes, specifically Master-trusts, Multi-employer schemes, and Group Personal Pension schemes, are changing over time and what it means for the schemes. Responses must be submitted by 5 July 2024.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published an updated edition of its Pensions Primer: a guide to the UK pensions system. The guide provides an overview of the UK pensions system and reflects the current position of, and legislated future changes, to pensions policy in the UK as at 4 July 2024. PPI notes the guide is aimed at people wanting to learn about, or update their knowledge relating to, current UK pensions policy and covers both State and private pensions.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published The DC Future Book 2024, setting out available data on the Defined Contribution (DC) landscape alongside commentary, analysis and projections of future trends. The book explains the current DC landscape and changes over the years, analyses the current and future challenges faced by savers, and considers what the DC market may look like in the future. The book also analyses the impact of past and future policy on the DC landscape and reflects on policy themes.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published a briefing paper dealing with the triple lock measure for uprating the State Pension. It sets out the policy, the stakeholders in the policy, issues at stake, and other policy options that have been suggested. This is the first in a series of papers the PPI will be publishing which cover some of the pensions policy areas that are likely to be discussed during the 2024 General Election campaign.

The Pensions Policy Institute's (PPI) has published its briefing note 139, which explores the outcomes of single and multi-employer Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pension schemes in the UK. The study utilises a model developed by King's College London to simulate these schemes. Key findings indicate that single employer CDC schemes outperform equivalent Defined Contribution (DC) schemes, regardless of economic conditions. Multi-employer CDC schemes are found to outperform single employer schemes, offering higher retirement benefits due to different operating principles. The research also identifies a multi-generational cross subsidy effect in single employer schemes and potential cross subsidies between demographic groups with different mortalities in multi-employer schemes. The briefing note highlights the distinct design principles between single and multi-employer CDC schemes, with the former modelled on the Royal Mail's scheme and the latter unable to offer fixed benefit entitlements due to varying employer characteristics and unpredictable future membership.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published a briefing paper in light of the upcoming general election on 4 July 2024, covering each main party's manifesto pledges concerning pensions. The briefing paper addresses areas such as state provision, pension savings, social care, housing, and wider topics with an impact on pensions.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published briefing note number 137 which sets out the position on collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes in the UK. The note examines the development of CDCs, the current rules and regulations around CDC and the future development of CDC schemes including potential risks and alternative scheme designs. The briefing note also includes a case study on the Royal Mail CDC scheme. The briefing note is intended as the first in a series exploring CDC schemes.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published a report analysing private pension wealth across the working-age population using data from the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS). The report focuses on disparities affecting women, single mothers, disabled adults, divorced adults and individuals holding multiple jobs. The report shows that median pension wealth for women is lower than that of men, while single mothers have lower pension wealth than the working-age population as a whole, including among those who have pension savings. The analysis also shows that at least half of disabled adults of working age have no private pension wealth. The report notes that divorced adults and people with multiple jobs have higher median pension wealth than some other under-pensioned groups, which the PPI attributes largely to age differences, as these groups tend to be closer to retirement.