Pensions, fuel, HSBC and pay gap

There’s some bad news for employees with generous company pensions following the publication of a government green paper on the future of Defined Benefit (DB) pensions.

The Guardian reports that, under the proposals, firms could cut pension promises to 11 million people, dramatically reducing their income in retirement.

The plans are likely to face fierce opposition from unions given they would permit companies to save £90 billion by providing annual increases in their retired employees’ pensions based on the consumer price index, rather than the retail price index. Analysis by Hargreaves Lansdown suggests that for every £1,000 in pension income in 1988, under RPI it had increased to £2,586 this year, but only £2,105 under CPI. Fuel Motorists who fill up at supermarket fuel stations may find they no longer save money on their fuel bill. According to new research by the AA published on ThisisMoney, the petrol price gap between the big four supermarkets and dedicated fuel retailers has dropped below 3p for the first time in over a year.

Pay gap

The BBC reports on an attack on the government by MPs who say ministers have failed to implement reforms aimed at eliminating the gender pay gap.

The Women and Equalities Committee said the government had failed to act on its recommendations on tackling the structural causes of wage inequality. The government’s response was ‘inadequate’ and ‘deeply disappointing’, the MPs said. Business rates More on the row over a sharp increase in business rates. The Times reports that ‘the communities secretary was accused of misleading his own MPs yesterday to head off a backbench rebellion over business rate rises. Sajid Javid wrote to all Conservative MPs on Saturday claiming that the revolt was based on “distortions and half-truths”. He attached a list of planned rate changes affecting hundreds of thousands of businesses in Tory constituencies.’ The paper says that new revelations show that Javid’s analysis underestimated the rises in each constituency by between 5 and 7 percentage points. Rather than business rates falling in 259 of the 326 areas, as Javid claimed, rates are due to fall in only 135 areas and increase in 191.

HSBC

Shares in HSBC have dropped after the bank reported a steeper-than-expected fall in annual profits, according to the BBC. The bank reported a $7.1 billion (£5.7 billion) pre-tax profit for 2016, down 62 per cent on the $18.9 billion reported a year earlier.

Motor insurance

With March one of the busiest months for car insurance renewals, Gocompare.com warns that UK drivers are wasting an estimated £1.5 billion a year by allowing their car insurance to automatically renew without checking they’re getting a good deal.

Gocompare.com Car Insurance’s research suggests that 5.25 million motorists fall for insurers’ auto-renewal ruse, allowing their insurance to be renewed automatically without even checking to see if they could get the same cover for less money.

Gocompare.com’s Car Insurance Auto-Renewal Study revealed that young drivers (aged 18 to 24), who potentially have the most to save, were the most apathetic. Just under a quarter fell into the auto-renewal trap – leaving their insurance to roll-over without checking other quotes. When asked why they had auto-renewed their insurance, 41 per cent had done so out of loyalty to their insurer while 29 per cent admitted they’d done so because they find car insurance confusing and didn’t have the confidence to switch.

Economy Some good news for the Chancellor ahead of next month’s budget. Government finances were £9.4 billion in surplus last month – the highest for January since 2000 – after rising £300 million compared to last year, according to ONS figures. Grandparents

Nine million UK grandparents provide childcare for their grandchildren, propping up pressurised UK families, according to new research from insurer Ageas. This ‘grandparent army’ saves parents more than £16 billion each year in formal childcare costs, around £1,786 per family.