News that the pension triple lock guarantee has been compromised caused consternation among a sizeable proportion of the nation’s older population. The promise extended to retirees a decade ago was simple enough: the state pension will increase annually by either the inflation rate, average earnings or 2.5%, whichever is the higher. However, following the publication of figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which showed a rise in average earnings of almost 8%, the government had little option other than to modify the triple lock’s seemingly sacrosanct terms with a promise it will be for one year only. We shall see.
This latest governmental intervention into pensions marks the continuation of what has been a busy few years for the sector. From George Osborne’s ‘pension freedoms’ and the much-heralded, but non-appearance of ‘Lamborghini Pensioners’, to the successful rollout of auto-enrolment and the continued replacement of Defined Benefit (DB) pensions with Defined Contribution (DC) and Defined Ambition (DA) plans.
STM Group plc (LON:STM) is a multi-jurisdictional financial services group listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Group was formed as a strategic investment company specifically to build a leading financial services group originally operating in the international corporate and trustee service provider (CTSPs) sector.