Watson Wyatt

Unfunded public sector pension liabilities have reached almost £1trn, which is more than 80% higher than recent government estimates, claims consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

Pensions cuts of nearly 80% in the last 10 years, as a result of lower returns on investments and reducing annuity rates, could leave savers in a National Pension Savings Scheme (NPSS) with inadequate pensions, claims consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

An increase in the level of government inflation-linked bonds may not be enough to satisfy demand by pension funds, claims Watson Wyatt.

Over half of IFAs expect to recommend wraps to a substantial proportion of their clients, claims new research from global consulting firm, Watson Wyatt.

An extra £2bn in National Insurance (NI) rebates is needed to compensate those employers and members of company pension schemes opting out of the State Second Pension (S2P), new research indicates.

The pension deficits of FTSE 100 firms declined by nearly £12b during July, the biggest reduction since October 2003, says Watson Wyatt.

Consultant Watson Wyatt says pension simplification and A-Day threaten possible tax rates up to 95% on parts of benefits, causing executives in the biggest UK firms to shift their retirement savings to UURBS.

Watson Wyatt cautions that separation of strategic asset allocation advice and investment manager selection could lead to ‘unintended consequences' including increases in costs and further ‘disjointed' decision-making.

Employees are most likely to use cash methods as an alternative when incurring a tax charge under the new pensions Lifetime Allowance (LTA), research by Watson Wyatt suggests.

Far from saving £80m annually the government's Pension Bill could end up costing an additional £400m annually, suggests research by consultant Watson Wyatt.