Latest on the Pension Crisis

Some of the latest headlines read; "DEATH of a decent pension: Crisis will hit millions in retirement", "Pension crisis to last for 20 years: 11 million Britons face reduced payouts" and "Pensions: A system in crisis". And if that doesn't worry you then here are some of the latest statistics and facts:

The research body Pensions Institute has previously warned 1,000 private-sector pension schemes, including 25 of the largest in the UK, are “highly unlikely” to pay their members’ pensions in full.

In what pension analysts are calling “the end of an era”, every single one of the defined benefit (DB) schemes offered by the country’s top companies face being shut down.

JTL Employee Benefits found total disclosed pension liabilities of FTSE 250 companies soared to a high of £81bn, as at 30 June 2015, up from £75bn a year earlier and the situation among FTSE 100 and 250 companies will look a lot worse than this in 2016 in the opinion of final salary pension specialist advisers Tideway Investment Partners.

A total of 26 companies have disclosed pension liabilities of more than £1bn, the largest of which is FirstGroup with disclosed pension liabilities of £4.91bn.

14 FTSE 250 companies have disclosed pension liabilities greater than their equity market value... this means that what they owe is more than their company is actually worth!

Only 49 FTSE 250 companies are still providing more than a handful of current employees with DB benefits. Of these, only 11 companies are still providing DB benefits to a significant number of employees.

It is believed that the majority of FTSE 250 companies will cease DB pension provision to all employees within 12 months.

If you are no longer a UK resident and hold a defined benefit scheme, you do have the opportunity to transfer your pension out the scheme and the UK and into a personal pension trust offshore.

To understand your options better or if you would like us to conduct a quick 'health check' on your pension please follow the instructions on our Contact Us page or alternatively email info@loadstonegroup.com and one of our consultants will get in touch with you.