Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Retirement Plans
December 17, 2020 12:17 PM

U.K. plans warn regulator not to lift contribution leniency too soon

Paulina Pielichata
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Bloomberg
    A sign displaying information about social distancing sits on the fence of a closed children's play park in the Westminster district of London.

    The Pensions Regulator should not end deficit recovery contribution holidays too soon, despite the outlook for 2021 looking stable, U.K. retirement executives warned.

    A survey of 55 executives by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, published Thursday, found that 81% said COVID-19 had little or no impact on the day-to-day running of their plans, up from 67% in April and 42% in March. But while plans are optimistic about the near-term, 59% of them would still support an extension of regulatory easements and flexibilities from the regulator beyond early 2021.

    In March the regulator said plan sponsors can reduce or suspend deficit recovery contributions for a three-month period due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. DB plan trustees could have also suspended planned transfers of participant retirement pots to defined contribution or other arrangements for up to three months. In June, the regulator updated its guidance, stating that employers may continue to seek to delay deficit contributions but the trustees were required to resume reporting to the regulator about any suspended, reduced or missed contributions.

    The PLSA survey found that 91% of executives including all multiemployer plan executives — known as master trusts — and local authority fund executives said that they are running their plans smoothly in the current economic environment.

    See more of P&I's coverage of the coronavirus

    Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, 85% of plans have not seen an increase in participant inquiries and only 8% have seen a substantial increase in inquiries, which related to new participants retiring, changes in employment or transfers out of the plans, the survey found.

    According to the survey, 37% of respondents have not seen any changes in participant behavior, while around 27% have seen more participants visiting plans' online portals. Almost two-thirds or 63% of master trusts and local authority plans surveyed said that they do not have concerns about meeting pension obligations with the current situation for the whole of 2021, while a further 25% of them said they could cope for between six months to a year. Only 12% reported they would struggle to cope in the first six months of 2021, the PLSA said.

    "The pension industry has proven to be extremely robust in dealing with the massive disruption and unpredictability of COVID-19 and it's pleasing to see so many of our members coping well and looking optimistically towards 2021," Nigel Peaple, director of policy and research, said in a news release. "Yet it is important that policymakers and regulators take into consideration the forthcoming difficult economic and investment environment, and make sure that the decisions they take next year support schemes in helping savers achieve a better income in retirement," he added.

    The survey was conducted Nov. 20 to Dec. 7.

    Related Articles
    Unpaid contributions to U.K. DC plans jump in third quarter
    COVID-19 sparks wave of U.K. contribution holidays
    Recommended for You
    Australian currency on a desktop with a calculator, spiral bound notebook and the word 'super' spelled out it letters
    UniSuper, Australian Catholic Super to move ahead with merger plans
    Australian money with the word SUPER, and a calculator and notebook
    AustralianSuper plans to double private equity exposures by mid-2024
    Hawaii_Capitol_i.jpg
    Hawaii passes bill to create state-run auto-IRA program
    OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas
    Sponsored Content: OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas

    Reader Poll

    May 23, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Crossroads: Politics, Inflation, & Bonds
    Credit Indices: Closing the Fixed Income Evolutionary Gap
    Forever in Style: Benchmarking with the Morningstar® Broad Style Indexes℠
    Q2 2022 Credit Outlook: Carry On
    Leverage does not equal risk
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    May 9, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
      • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference