Retirement saving gender gap hits record high
by Gill Montia
Story link: Retirement saving gender gap hits record high
The gap between the amount men and women are saving for retirement has grown to a record high, according to Scottish Widows, as women continue to be hit disproportionately by the economic downturn. In its latest “Women and Pensions” report, the firm claims that half of Britain’s females are feeling worse off than a year [...]
Scottish Widows Investments appoints director of equities
by Gill Montia
Story link: Scottish Widows Investments appoints director of equities
Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has appointed William Low as director of equities. The move follows the repositioning of the firm’s equities strategy and in his new role Mr Low has overall responsibility for the global equity, specialist equity, dealing and governance teams. He joined SWIP from BlackRock in April 2011, since when he has [...]
Jelf launches new pension proposition
by Gill Montia
Story link: Jelf launches new pension proposition
Jelf Employee Benefits has launched a new pension proposition aimed at ensuring employers and their staff get the support they need in the light of increasing pension legislation. The offering, which comprises “Jelf Money at Work” and “Jelf Money after Work” takes a holistic approach, looking after the complete pension journey from joining through to [...]
British firms failing to adopt key staff protection
by Richard Kilner
Story link: British firms failing to adopt key staff protection
Scottish Widows has conducted new research which reveals that UK businesses are adopting an overly passive attitude to the protection of their staff. More than three-quarters of businesses (77%) stated that should one (or more) individual(s) fall ill or die their loss would have a dramatic impact upon the firm’s success. The Scottish Widows Business [...]
Pension contribution levels a mystery to many
by Gill Montia
Story link: Pension contribution levels a mystery to many
Only 55% of Britons with Defined Contribution (DC) pension schemes know what they are contributing, while the other 45% are either contributing nothing at all, or have no idea how much they are putting towards their retirement income. New figures from Scottish Widows also suggest that 38% of DC members don’t know how much their [...]
Over half of adult Britons lack life insurance
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Over half of adult Britons lack life insurance
New research commissioned by Scottish Widows has found that 28 million Britons lack life insurance, leaving their family potentially open to financial vulnerability should the worst happen. Many people are continuing to go without financial safety nets such as critical illness cover and life insurance, according to the third Scottish Widows Consumer Protection Report. There [...]
Sole traders lack “key person” insurance
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Sole traders lack “key person” insurance
The Scottish Widows Business Protection Report has discovered that around 2.6m sole traders in the UK are leaving themselves vulnerable to the loss of one or two instrumental people. Small firms contribute about half of the country’s turnover, but many are failing to protect the key person/owner involved. More than four in five have one [...]
Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical merger to cost 305 jobs
by Gill Montia
Story link: Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical merger to cost 305 jobs
Lloyds Banking Group has announced that it is merging its Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical units. Lloyds TSB’s takeover of HBOS last year meant the new group included Lloyds TSB’s life insurance arm, Scottish Widows, plus HBOS’s Clerical Medical and Halifax Life. Bearing in mind the need to make cost savings of over £1.5 billion [...]
Lloyds Banking Group considers sale of insurance assets
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lloyds Banking Group considers sale of insurance assets
Lloyds Banking Group is reported to be considering the sale of part of its insurance business. The group, which has been created through the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS, includes Lloyds TSB’s life insurance arm, Scottish Widows, plus HBOS’s Clerical Medical and Halifax Life. Bearing in mind the group has already announced plans to [...]
Scottish Widows restricts withdrawals from Life Property Fund
by Gill Montia
Story link: Scottish Widows restricts withdrawals from Life Property Fund
Scottish Widows has once again banned certain types of withdrawal from its £600 million Life Property Fund. The move means that around 35,000 investors in the commercial property fund will have to wait up to 180 days to retrieve their savings. However, claims made on the death of a policyholder, at policy maturity or for [...]
Lloyds TSB rumours: Scottish Widows swap for Allianz’s Dresdner Bank
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lloyds TSB rumours: Scottish Widows swap for Allianz’s Dresdner Bank
Allianz’s auction of its German banking division is reported to be attracting a bid from Lloyds TSB. In March of this year, Munich-based Allianz restructured its Dresdner Bank subsidiary, which includes investment division Dresdner Kleinwort, in preparation for a sale. Allianz acquired Dresdner Bank in 2001 and while the latter’s private and corporate business has [...]
Scottish Widows accused of misadvising pension schemes
by Gill Montia
Story link: Scottish Widows accused of misadvising pension schemes
Scottish Widows has denied reports that advice it has given to a number of pension schemes could land it in the law courts. Reports in the national press this weekend have repeated allegations that Scottish Widows has been negligent in its role advising around 100 company pension schemes, which are now considering claiming compensation of [...]
