Budget receives mixed reception

Scottish Widows has called for greater financial education in the workplace, in a bid to help close the savings gap. Significant workplace pension changes are already due in 2012, with the introduction of NEST and auto-enrolment, and Scottish Widows has called for a greater emphasis on workplace savings. John Taylor, Market Director for Pensions, has [...]

Lloyds Baking Group is expected to retain its Scottish Widows business, The Scotsman has reported. The strategic review set in motion on the arrival of Lloyds’ new group chief executive, António Horta-Osório, in March, had prompted rumours of a sale but according to the newspaper, the life and pensions provider is considered too valuable to [...]

This is a guest post by Ed Ring editor of Union Watch, a project of the California Public Policy Center. California’s State/Local Governments Confront $1.0 Trillion in Debt

Felix Salmon pens an interesting couple of paragraphs:The fact is that a defined-benefit pension scheme is always going to run the risk that it won't be able to meet its liabilities as they come due. The California pension plans constitute an attempt to save hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for the pensions of the state's workers; the attempt might succeed, or it might not.

Illinois has combined $137 billion in pension and healthcare liabilities on top of $9 billion in current unpaid bills. Yet, Illinois legislators will not even ask 6-figure pensioners to pick up a portion of their health premiums. The Chicago Tribune reports Surprise! You owe another $54 billion