News and Resources:The latest insights and analysis from Cartwright

Dig deeper into industry developments with the help of insight and analytical observations from our experts

Autumn Budget 2024

News Insights and Analysis: November 2024

There had been a lot of rumour and speculation in the press prior to the Budget on 30 October 2024 about what changes the new Government would put in place that would affect pensions. Most of these did not form part of the Budget, but what has been announced in relation to Inheritance Tax is somewhat unexpected...

Dead money? Dashboard costs – is there an alternative?

News Insights and Analysis: October 2024

By now, Pensions Dashboard should be high on any pension scheme board meeting agenda and, hopefully, most Trustees have chosen or have at least started to review...

Cryptocurrency: Diversification opportunity or risky business?

News Insights and Analysis: October 2024

Our Head of Digital talks to journalist Sandra Haurant as she considers the arguments for and against cryptocurrency investment and what opportunities may develop for this new asset class...

The Rising Economic Costs of a World Rife with Geopolitical Risk

News Insights and Analysis: September 2024

As readers may have noticed, we are no longer in a business-as-usual environment. As the US ratings agency S&P Global recently warned, 'a world ordered for generations by globalisation and geo-economics' has quickly become a world rife with 'geopolitical risk'.

Smooth Starmer or Hard Labour?

News Insights and Analysis: July 2024

Yona Chesner, Regional Head of Investment at Cartwright (North), comments on the impact the new government could have on the financial markets.

Why pension trustees need to stay ahead of the political curve

News Insights and Analysis: July 2024

Around the world, more voters than any other year in history will be filling out ballot papers. At least 64 countries (plus the European Union), representing around 49% of the global population, are scheduled to hold national elections, some of which will prove to be consequential for years to come...

Court of Appeal upholds Virgin Media decision

News Insights and Analysis: July 2024

The Court of Appeal has upheld the original decision in the June 2023 High Court case of Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees. This related to historic amendments made to benefits accrued after 6 April 1997 in a contracted-out salary-related pension scheme.

Equity Protection Strategies

News Insights and Analysis: May 2024

Equity risk, even at modest allocations, within a portfolio, can still represent a material source of downside funding-level risk to pension schemes and timing the equity market with any consistency is notoriously difficult...

The Pensions Regulator’s 2024 Annual Funding Statement

News Insights and Analysis: May 2024

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has issued its 2024 Annual Funding Statement (AFS). It sets out its expectations for Trustees and Employers of Defined Benefit (DB) schemes undertaking actuarial valuations with effective dates between 22 September 2023 and 21 September 2024. Noting that many schemes’ funding positions have improved significantly in recent years, it encourages a reassessment of long-term objectives.

How Central Banks Distort the Price of Money in Today’s Economy

News Insights and Analysis: May 2024

Before central banks took on a much more interventionist role in the economy, interest rates were generally left to their own devices. They rose and fell depending on the volume of savings, or capital, available at any given time. In this way, they played a vital role in telegraphing the price of money; in fact, interest rates are often described by Austrian economists as the price of money.

Private Markets

News Insights and Analysis: April 2024

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has recently issued new guidance and a press release to help pension scheme Trustees consider private market assets as an investment option to boost member outcomes.

Consultation on Options for DB Pension Schemes

News Insights and Analysis: March 2024

The government recently published a consultation paper entitled “Options for Defined Benefit Pension Schemes”, following an earlier consultation in 2023. The paper outlines some proposals centred on making it easier to extract surpluses from DB pension schemes.

Governments and Central Banks are Destroying the Value of Your Money

News Insights and Analysis: February 2024

The Cantillon Effect describes the distributional consequences money printing can have in an economy and was first coined (if you’ll excuse the pun) by 18th-century Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon.

DWP Finalises New Funding Regulations

News Insights and Analysis: January 2024

In 2022, the DWP consulted on its draft Occupational Pension Scheme (Funding and Investment Strategy and Amendment) Regulations. Together with the new Code of Practice on Scheme Funding to be issued by the Pensions Regulator (TPR), these will provide a new funding regime for Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes.

A Summary of the Pension Tax Changes and the New Tax Allowances Effective from 6 April 2024

News Insights and Analysis: January 2024

The Finance Bill 2023-24 was published on 29 November 2023 containing 100 pages devoted to pensions. This, along with subsequent guidance issued by HMRC, has now provided a lot of the necessary detail as to the new allowances that will be introduced, as well as to the operation of the changes effective from 6 April 2024.

The Pensions Regulator’s new General Code of Practice

News Insights and Analysis: January 2024

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 and the Pension Schemes Act 2021 introduced changes requiring The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to review and set out further measures to improve the existing Codes of Practice.

The AI Revolution

News Insights and Analysis: November 2023

Artificial Intelligence (AI) could have a profound impact on the retirement security of millions, as the sector navigates through the complexities of fluctuating longevity risks, economic uncertainties, and stringent regulatory demands. AI's potential lies in its ability to drive innovation and efficiency.

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