deVere Group’s founder and CEO Nigel Green says that UK pensions face an unprecedented level of risk following the Brexit vote
He points to several contributing factors which combine to negatively impact savers’ retirement funds: “UK pensions face an unprecedented level of risk following the Brexit vote. Those with UK pensions must be made aware that many of their hard earned savings are now in the eye of the perfect storm following the UK’s historic decision to leave the EU.
“There are four key factors that could seriously derail people’s retirement plans.
“First, gilt yields have reduced considerably since the Brexit vote and this has driven up transfer values. This is good news for those wishing to take money out of the defined benefit scheme, but these larger pay-outs put extreme further pressure on the pension schemes themselves – many of which are already woefully underfunded.
“As more and more individuals seek to secure a transfer, the more likely it is that schemes will run into liquidity problems and could seek to freeze transfers altogether.
“Second, these falling gilt yields will further drive up pension deficits –and this is the last thing they need. It was widely reported last week that the UK’s pension funding hole has hit a record high of £935 billion. This is likely to grow and will soon reach a trillion.
“The weight of these deficits brings into question the very survival of many company pension schemes and in order to survive they will need to make drastic changes to the terms of employees’ pension schemes.
“Of course, there is the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the government’s lifeboat fund, but this is already close to sinking. It simply isn’t in a position to handle any further high-profile collapses.
“Third is the downturn in the UK economy after the Brexit vote. With some experts now forecasting a possible recession, it will become more and more difficult to fund pension schemes. Many companies will find the true cost of operating them increasingly prohibitive.
“And fourth, the value of the assets that the schemes invest in and hold is likely to depreciate due to the economic downturn. For instance there are real and justified concerns over a cooling property market and the banking and travel sectors, with companies across many different industries issuing profit warnings.
“Brexit has helped create the worst of all worlds for pensions – and the true damage to pension schemes is not always immediately apparent as most schemes only carry out a full valuation every three years. As such, the ramifications of Brexit on pension schemes will only truly be felt over a period of years and by that point schemes may have already gone beyond the point of no return.
“Now more than ever savers must ensure they are properly diversified to mitigate the increasing threats to their retirement funds.”
