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Public sector pension costs - hiding the truth Ros comments on the Chancellors Pre Budget Report and highlights that the public is being misled about future costs of public sector pensions. She also wants personal accounts abandoned and policy moves to promote longer working lives. FT letter - QE increases risks for all assets Letter published in the Financial Times explaining why the Bank of England's gilt purchases in QE are distorting the supposedly risk free gilt market which underpins all others, and this entails significantly increased risks of asset price crashes in future. Sunday Post - Scandal of our different rules for banks' pensions
Feature article in Scotland's Sunday Post, discussing the injustice of taxpayers protecting bankers' pensions in full, while not paying anything at all to restore pensions of other workers. Taxpayers rescue bank pensions 100%
Press Release asking how it can be right that bankers' pensions are 100% underwritten by taxpayers, while Government has always said taxpayers could not 'afford' to restore pension victims pensions in full, despite Parliamentary Ombudsman, High Court and Court of Appeal verdicts.
Incentives and
conflicts of interest in RBS remuneration Ros expresses her concerns about damaging conflicts of interest at the heart of Government policy for dealing with the banks. Incentivising RBS management to get share price up cannot be good for social objectives of wider lending.
FT letter: Deflation
dangers disappeared, monetary easing must stop Letter published in Financial Times calling for an urgent end to quantitative easing now that deflation dangers have gone.
Yorkshire Post op-ed
– pensions crisis worse than credit
crisis Op-ed published in Yorkshire Post explaining why the pensions crisis is likely to be worse than the credit crisis and lamenting the measures announced in the UK 2009 Budget which did not address the problems.
Quantitative Easing
– more misery to come Press Release explaining why the Bank of England's latest announcement about extending Quantitative Easing further is misguided and dangerous. Such short term thinking is not in our interests and the sums involved as more than the entire annual revenue from council tax and national insurance!
Sunday Post –
pensions and the budget: another missed
opportunity Article published in Scotland's Sunday Post newspaper, explaining how the recent budget measures were a missed opportunity to sort out our pensions crisis and will not deal with the problems. Could this be because policymakers do not have to worry about pensions themselves?
Sunday Telegraph
Comment – Without urgent action on pensions,
old age will be something to fear
Comment piece published in Sunday Telegraph explaining the inadequacies of the 2009 Budget's pension measures and the risks that millions will face an impoverished old age
UK budget pension
measures Ros gives an overview of the measures announced in the Spring 2009 UK Budget, as they relate to pensions.
Telegraph: Inflation
is the big worry, forget deflation
myth Daily Telegraph 'Fundamentalist View' Column explaining Ros' view that deflation is a myth and we are heading for a big inflation problem which will hurt corporate bonds as well as fixed interest gilts, with investors needing inflation protection.
Yorkshire Post op-ed:
Pensions – we all face a poorer
future Op-ed published in Yorkshire Post explaining the dangers of employers cutting pension contributions and the Government's personal accounts encouraging further cutbacks in future. This is a pay cut today, will be a pension cut tomorrow and will mean delayed retirement or pensioner poverty in future.
Government is only
making pension problems worse with
QE Article published in Scotland's Sunday Post newspaper, outlining why it is wrong to print money to buy gilts. Quantitative Easing will not revive the economy unless the money printed actually goes to the parts of the economy which need it. Meanwhile, it is damaging pensions enormously.
Quantitative Easing
– a huge mistake Article published on Daily Telegraph website explaining why Ros believes that Quantitative Easing is a huge mistake, will not work, and will make things worse.
Why buying gilts for
QE is so wrong Press Release explaining that the Bank of England's decision to print money to buy gilts will not work, the money will either leak abroad or not get to where it is so urgently needed – and pension funds and annuity rates will be severely damaged too.
'QE' –
the wrong policy fighting the wrong
enemy Article published in Scotland's Sunday Post newspaper, explaining the dangers of 'Quantitative Easing' – the fancy name for printing money.
Dangers of
Quantitative Easing Press Release highlighting the dangers of 'printing money' in an environment where inflation is still above the Bank of England's target.
Pensioner Poverty
– Response to DWP Select
Committee Ros' response to DWP Select Committee Inquiry into pensioner poverty, explaining how the credit crisis will make pensioner poverty worse and highlighting some of the injustices of current policy.
Sir Fred's
pension should be around £20,000 a
year Press Release explaining that Pension Protection Fund rules should apply to failed bank pension schemes, which would reduce Sir Fred's pension to around £20,000.
Trustees, Governance
and Investment Manager Selection
post-crisis Presentation given to Institutional Investor conference in Amsterdam outlining Ros' thoughts on past mistakes and future trends in pension fund investment and trustee investment governance.
FSCS Bank depositor
protection can disappear without
notice Press Release warning that FSCS protection can disappear if a bank decides to pull out. Investors will no longer be covered and FSA is not warning of this risk. Investors who take care to make sure they are covered by UK protection are being let down.
FT Money Comment
piece – Rate cut dangers – beware
inflation Comment article commissioned by the Financial Times for FT Money, outlining the dangers of sharp rate cuts for pensioners, for the economy and for future inflation.
Evening Standard
response - Who's to blame for the
crisis? Letter published in London Evening Standard responding to an article by Chris Blackhurst apportioning blame for causing the current crisis. Ros explains that she believes the Bank of England's warnings were ignored while the FSA encouraged or turned a blind eye to irresponsible lending activity by banks.
Presentation for MPs
and Lords on pensions and the credit
crisis Presentation given to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Security and Reform, funded by ESRC, explaining Ros' views on the policy response options for dealing with pensions and the credit crisis.
Latest rate cuts will
lead to inflation, won't solve the problems and
are unfair Article featured in Scottish Sunday Post, where Ros explains why the latest cut in interest rates will cause more damage to savers and pensioners and will lead to inflation that will cause yet more damage to pensioner incomes.
Blog entry on
Guardian Money – dangers of rate
cuts Blog commissioned by Guardian Media for Guardian Money website explaining the dangers of continued rate cuts to such low levels and warning that this policy will worsen economic outcomes, not improve them.
Rate cuts worsen
pensioner poverty Press Release warning that cutting interest rates again will worsen the economic outlook and worsen poverty for pensioners. Ros urges the authorities to stop cutting rates and focus on fiscal policy.
Parliamentary
Briefing on credit crisis and pensions policy
reform Parliamentary Briefing funded by ESRC for All Party Parliamentary Group on pension reform. Ros explains what policymakers need to be aware of and makes proposals for reforms to assist long-term sustainability.
Interactive Investor
- why bother with pensions? Article written for Interactive Investor website, explaining how the credit crisis has been a disaster for pensions and that Government policy is helping to undermine pensions even further.
Labour's Legacy -
destruction of pensions published in Scottish Sunday Post explaining that the era of final salary pension schemes is now closing and that Government policy has hastened the demise of a once-thriving private pension system in the UK.
FT Comment piece -
Better ways out of this crisis Comment article published in the Financial Times outlining some of the mistakes of the policy response so far and suggesting potentially more effective alternative policies to cope with the downturn.
Yorkshire Post -
Crisis needs a more intelligent
response An op-ed published in the Yorkshire Post - Ros explains why she believes it is wrong to cut interest rates further, the damage this can do and that a more intelligent, targeted approach is required to this crisis with Government taking charge and lending direct to companies.
Rate cuts could make
the economy worse, not better Ros explains why cutting interest rates even further from here is not sensible and causes significant damage to pensioners living on their savings. She highlights the iniquity of pension credit assumption that poor pensioners earn 10% interest on their savings.
Crisis policy
response carries big dangers Press Release critiquing Government's emergency policy measures, explaining dangers and highlighting unfairness for pensioners of pension credit assuming they still earn 10% interest on their savings.
Falling markets,
crumbling pensions Article published in House Magazine examining the credit crisis, stock market falls and policy response have impacted pensions and the implications for public spending.
Reassessing
investment risk Letter published in Financial Times suggesting that the concept of investment risk has been misunderstood - expected returns may not be each investors' achieved returns, but investors have acted as if their returns on risky assets will somehow be guaranteed.
Cutting interest
rates is like a tax increase or a pension cut -
it's wrong! Ros explains why cutting interest rates even further from here is not sensible and causes significant damage to pensioners living on their savings. She recommends bringing back the 10p tax band to improve incomes for all taxpayers and improving the state pension to help all pensioners over age 75.
Bring back the 10p
tax rate! Government reforms in the pre-budget report will not solve our problems and Ros suggests an alternative approach.
Credit Crisis and
Pension Funds - what now for LDI?
Presentation given to Goldman Sachs Pension Academy explaining how pension fund trustees could consider coping with the credit crisis and updating investment thinking for the future.
Critique of measures
in Pre-Budget Report Ros critiques measures in Government's Pre Budget Report, explaining why cutting VAT will not work and recommending reducing direct taxes and increasing pensions instead.
DMO should issue pension and annuity
gilts Ros wrote to urge the Government to issue gilts specifically targeted and pension funds and annuity providers: long duration, linked to inflation and longevity/mortality. There are hundreds of billions of pounds of domestic institutional money that would eagerly buy such paper.
Public sector
pensions aristocracy Article published in the Yorkshire Post contrasting the effects of the credit crunch on private sector and public sector schemes and calling for transparency on accounting for public sector pensions.
Crazy to bail out
IceSave retail deposits 100% Press Release highlighting the dangers of printing money to bail out retail bank depositors 100% while long term savings remain maximum 90% safe. There should at least be some quid pro quo for taxpayers protecting above the £50,000 limit.
Credit crisis
measures will worsen the pensions
crisis Press Release explaining why the panic measures aimed at stabilizing the banking system will make the pensions crisis worse and lead to a serious pensioners crisis soon. Ros calls for the Government to issue more long-dated gilts and longevity or mortality bonds.
Credit crisis results
from duration mis-match, short-term thinking not the
answer Press Release suggesting the credit crisis is due to short-term policy which borrowed from the long-term and will have to be paid back. Until policymakers understand this, they will not solve the problem and short term panic measures are not the answer.
Financial crisis and
pensions Article published in Unite Magazine, explaining the dangers of emergency protection of bank deposits 100% while pensions are far less protected and the long term risks of making short term savings more secure than long term investments.
How the credit crisis
affects pensions Article published by Pensions Management Institute in PMI News giving Ros' views on how the credit crisis is likely to affect pensions in the UK.
Final salary scheme
deficits soar again Press Release commenting latest figures showing rise in final salary scheme deficits for FTSE 100 companies caused by falling equity markets and disappointing corporate bond returns.
Final chapter for
final salary Article published in the Yorkshire Post explaining why the latest falls in asset prices have led to worrying deficits in UK final salary pension schemes, which will hasten the demise of such schemes.
Financial crisis and
demographic dangers of current Government
policy Presentation given to LSE conference on Financial Markets Crisis, explaining how savers will be affected and the need to restore savings incentives. |
