Press Releases

Commenting on the Bank of England’s interest rate hold at 5.25%, Chris Arcari, Head of Capital Markets, Hymans Robertson, said:

“As expected the Bank of England left rates unchanged at a 23-year-high of 5.25% p.a. Headline CPI inflation has fallen sharply, to 3.4% year-on-year, from its 11.1% peak in October 2022. Indeed, it is expected to fall further and even dip below target in late spring and early summer, as the full impact of lower energy prices and lower food and goods price inflation is felt.

Commenting on today’s Consumer Price Inflation fall to 3.4% and tomorrow’s Bank of England interest rate announcement, Chris Arcari, Head of Capital Markets, Hymans Robertson, said:

“Headline CPI fell more than expected to 3.4% in February, its lowest level since September 2021. Indeed, it is expected to fall further in 2024, with consensus forecasts expecting inflation to dip below the 2% target in late spring and early summer, but at a slower pace than in 2023. Falls in energy and goods and food price disinflation – large detractors from headline inflation over 2023 – have largely run their course...

Commenting on the 10^th anniversary of Chancellor George Osborne’s speech announcing ‘pension freedoms’, Kathryn Fleming, Head of DC At-Retirement Services, Hymans Robertson, said:

“The pension freedoms have been a minefield for many members.  Many savers know it’s a serious decision they now have to take, but they’ve been wrestling with where to get information and who to trust. The tax-free cash has also given relief from short-term financial pressures, but it may come at a longer-term cost, and occasionally with a tax bill.

Hymans Robertson has advised Debenhams Pension Scheme and its Trustee on a £600m bulk transfer to Clara. The transaction sees the transfer of member benefits to Clara, in doing so exiting PPF assessment and restoring full benefits for members.

Vidett is the Chair of the Trustee Board and Hymans Robertson LLP is the lead transaction advisor to the Trustee of the Scheme. Osborne Clarke acted as legal advisor.

Three quarters (75%) of DC pension savers aged 55 or over would find it helpful for their DC savings to start paying them an income automatically when they reached the point of retirement, research by Hymans Robertson has found. The research has been released today in the firm’s paper Designing decumulation defaults – remember the member. The paper argues the need for member-centric default decumulation design, something that can be a safety net for any member that doesn’t actively engage and make their own choices about their retirement income. It outlines the essential principles that providers should consider in scheme design. The leading pensions and financial services consultancy claims that too many members are at risk of poor outcomes through lost opportunities, expensive mistakes and fundamental confusion. Letting this continue is simply not acceptable and default decumulation will be essential.

• 2024 expected to be another bumper year
• £50bn a year will be the new normal for buy-in volumes, with the market expected to be at least that level every year for the remainder of the decade

Total pension scheme buy-in and buy-out volumes for 2023 reached an all-time high with both the number and value of transactions secured the highest ever recorded, says Hymans Robertson. The leading pensions and financial services consultancy has analysed the 2023 results which have now been published by the majority of insurers currently active in the market, along with publicly announced buy-in transactions.

Comment on the Spring Budget 2024 from William Marshall, Iain Campbell, Simon Jones, Julie Hammerton, Susan Waites, Alison Leslie and Paul Waters.

Comments from Alison Leslie and Paul Waters following on from today's Spring Budget announcements.

Commenting on plans to launch a British ISA, Julie Hammerton, Partner and Head of Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth, said:

"The introduction of a British ISA is unlikely to be a meaningful way to fulfil the policy objective of boosting UK growth. While it’s great to see a long-overdue rise to the ISA allowance, encouraging people to save more in a tax efficient way, stipulating that the extra £5,000 goes towards a British ISA has the potential to be at odds with the old saying "don't put too many eggs in the one basket". A key tenet of investing is diversification. Investing across different countries is a way to reduce investment risk by avoiding excessive concentration in any one market...

Commenting on the Chancellor’s cut to employee National Insurance Contributions (NIC), Susan Waites, Partner, Hymans Robertson, said:

“The widely trailed 2% reduction in employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) announced in the Spring Budget will provide a welcome boost to take home pay from April. An individual earning £35k will be £448 a year better off. It does however further erode the savings an employee makes by sacrificing pay for pension contributions, which cuts across Government intentions and industry efforts to incentivise employees to pay much more into their workplace pensions.”

Commenting on the Pensions Regulator’s (TPR’s) consultation on the statement of strategy for the DB funding code of practice, Laura McLaren, Head of DB Actuarial Consulting, Hymans Robertson, said:

“At last we have an idea of how TPR sees the draft regulations and code translating into a statement of strategy. The proposed template sets clear expectations for the information a scheme must provide, and what will be compliant.

“However, the extra disclosures looks like a significant addition to valuations. The challenge will be to streamline compliance so it’s as easy as possible.

On his hopes and expectations for what the Government will announce in the Spring Budget, Paul Waters, Head of DC Markets, Hymans Robertson, said:

“Pensions Minister Paul Maynard has said the Spring Budget might contain an update on the lifetime provide model or ‘pot for life’.  But there are a number of other initiatives in play to tackle our fragmented pensions system, such as consolidation and the pensions dashboard, which should be given time to deliver first, before pot for life.  Only then will we know if we’re tackling the right problem.  Radical developments like the lifetime pension model should be longer term policy considerations.”