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Pensioners told this low-risk option would protect retirement savings. Then it crashed 25% | Personal Finance | Finance

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Many have seen their nest eggs crash by up to 25 per cent and may struggle to recoup their losses, ruining retirement plans. In a bitter irony, they’d been told they were making their retirement savings less risky, by shifting their money from stocks and shares into the supposed safe haven of government bonds.

Instead, they are being hammered as bond prices crash due to falling interest rates. Playing safe has exposed them to a huge, hidden risk that few foresaw.

The underlying problem is that bond prices were artificially inflated after the Bank of England slashed interest rates almost to zero after the financial crisis, and flooded markets with virtual money through quantitative easing.

This created a bond bubble which ran for more than a decade only to burst last year as soaring interest rates destroyed bond prices.

Those hardest hit ticked a box on a form sent to them by their pension company suggesting they de-risk their pension savings in the decade before retirement, by steadily switching from shares to bonds.

The option is known as “lifestyling” and was set up with the best of intentions. Yet it has sent many pension savers down the road to retirement hell.

Government bonds such as UK gilts are supposed to protect your capital but last year they suffered their worst sell-off since the war, as soaring interest rates hit prices.

Bond values have fallen again in recent weeks as sticky inflation means that interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer.

The bond market rout has “potentially disastrous” implications for savers in lifestyling, said Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.“Significant falls in pension values so close to retirement can undermine the best laid retirement plans and leave people needing to work for longer.”

Andrew Tully, technical services director at Nucleus Financial, said the damage will depend on how much of your pension has been shifted into bonds. “Gilt prices have fallen by anything up to 50 percent. So if, say, half your pension is been moved into bonds its total value could have fallen by up to a quarter.”

Gilts are supposed to be much safer than shares, but lately both have been falling at the same time in a double whammy.

Tully said lifestyling is an “outdated concept” anyway, designed for the days when people retired at a specific date and used their funds to buy an annuity. 

READ MORE: £10,600 is not enough – what pensioners really need to retire in comfort

Today, the majority of pensioners leave their money invested at retirement, via drawdown. “Over a typical 25-year retirement, shares should deliver a superior return to bonds, so starting the lifestyling process at age 55 makes little sense,” Tully said.

In defence of lifestyling, nobody foresaw a time when both shares and bonds would both crash at the same time. “Poor gilt performance over the last couple of years has turned a supposed safe haven into a place of jeopardy,” Tully added.

Savers in lifestyling could contact their pension company and asked to be switched back into shares but Tully said this will not reverse the losses they have already made.

He added: “Those slightly further away from retirement may want to check if they ticked the lifestyling option and reconsider whether they still want to do this. In many cases it may be better to leave your money in the stock market. Independent financial advice may help.”

Lifestyling is an option on company and personal defined contribution pension plans, sometimes called money-purchase plans.

With these type of pension schemes, now the vast majority, pension contributions are invested and what the policyholder gets a retirement depends on how well their portfolio performs.

Lifestyling is not an issue with gold-plated defined benefit final salary plans, where what your retirement income depends on pay and years of service, rather than investment performance.

Helen Morrissey said there is one compensation for affected savers who plan to purchase an annuity for their retirement income. “Their pension pot may have fallen but higher gilt yields have pushed up annuity rates.’’



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US Issues Travel Advisory For Citizens As Airspace Partially Reopens

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April 22, 2026

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The United States government on Wednesday issued an urgent security alert for American citizens inside Iran, urging them to leave the country immediately as Iran’s airspace partially reopened following weeks of conflict between the two nations.

The advisory, posted by the US State Department’s official travel account on Wednesday evening, said, “US citizens should leave Iran now, monitor local media for updates, and consult with commercial carriers for additional information on flights out of Iran.”

ALSO READ: Mid-Air Accident: South Korea Probe Finds Jets Collided As Pilots Took Photos During Flight

The alert, issued as Iran’s airspace reopened partially on April 21 after being closed during the active phase of the US-Iran war, outlined multiple exit routes available to Americans still in the country. 

“Americans seeking to depart Iran may also depart by land to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Turkmenistan,” the advisory stated, while adding a critical warning, “US citizens should not travel to Afghanistan, Iraq, or the Pakistan-Iran border area.”

The advisory also flagged the risk of deliberate obstruction by Iranian authorities. “Be aware that the Iranian government may prevent US citizens from departing or charge an ‘exit fee’ for departures from Iran,” it warned.

In a specific note for dual nationals, the alert stated that “US-Iranian dual nationals must exit Iran on Iranian passports.”

The advisory comes at a volatile moment in the US-Iran standoff. 

A two-week ceasefire, which had been set to expire Wednesday, was extended by US President Trump at the request of Pakistani mediators — though the US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains firmly in place. 

Meanwhile, peace talks in Islamabad remain stalled, with allegedly Iran’s civilian and military leadership sharply divided over whether to engage with Washington’s conditions.

ALSO READ: Trump Offering Iran 3 To 5 Days To Respond On Peace Talks Amid Extended Ceasefire Deadline: Report

The partial reopening of Iranian airspace signals a fragile easing of hostilities, but US officials have made clear the situation remains deeply uncertain. 

With US Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad for a second round of peace talks postponed indefinitely and Tehran refusing to formally commit to negotiations, American citizens on the ground in Iran face an unpredictable and potentially dangerous environment.

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Govt Mulls Crackdown On Polymarket, Kalshi, Other Prediction Market Apps As Election Betting Spikes

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April 22, 2026

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Prediction market apps such as Kalshi, Polymarket have come under the lens of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India MeitY’s scanner. 

Platforms such as Kalshi, Polymarket are used for betting on election outcomes, IPL and many other events, and MeitY is currently mulling action against these apps. 

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Mother Dairy FY26 Revenue Rises 17% To Rs 20,300 Crore; Eyes Rs 24,000-Crore Turnover This Fiscal

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April 22, 2026

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Mother Dairy achieved a 17 per cent growth in its turnover to Rs 20,300 crore last fiscal on better demand for its milk products and cooking oils, its new MD Jayateertha Chary on Wednesday said, adding that the company has set a 20 per cent revenue growth target for 2026-27.

Mother Dairy, one of the leading milk suppliers in the Delhi-NCR, is not contemplating any increase in milk prices despite a rise in input costs, he said.

“Our turnover grew 17 per cent to Rs 20,300 crore during 2025-26. In the last five years, the company’s turnover has doubled to cross the Rs 20,000 crore milestone,” Chary told PTI.

Its turnover stood at Rs 17,500 crore in 2024-25.

Chary noted that the company achieved volume and value growth during the last fiscal year, while attributing the success to “consumer trust” in its products.

Out of the total turnover, the dairy vertical contributed over Rs 15,000 crore, while edible oils and horticulture segments accounted for around Rs 5,000 crore. Around 63 per cent of the company’s revenue came from Delhi-NCR and the remaining from the rest of India.

Value-added dairy products (over 23 per cent) and edible oils (25 per cent) contributed the most to the turnover growth.

Milk business outpaced industry growth, delivering 11 per cent volume growth.

On the outlook for the current 2026-27 fiscal, Chary said the company is targeting a strong 20 per cent growth.

When asked about plans to hike milk prices, he said, “Our input costs for milk procurement have increased. Prices of packaging materials have gone up by 20 per cent. We are currently absorbing the rise in input cost, and we are not contemplating any increase in prices as of now”.

He said there is no issue with the supply of gas and packaged materials.

On plans to enter a new segment, Chary said the company is not looking at entering new segments but will expand its range in the product categories where it is already present.

Mother Dairy regularly introduces new varieties of ice cream and has recently introduced ‘raita’.

Regarding edible oils, he said the prices have inched up because of costly imports.

On capacity expansion, Chary said the company had announced Rs 2,000 crore capex to expand dairy and horticulture businesses. It is setting up plants in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The company expects to complete these expansions by the end of the next calendar year.

The top official also highlighted that quick commerce contributed 5 per cent to its overall turnover. The sales through this channel are growing rapidly, reflecting accelerating digital adoption and expanding consumer access.

The company has expanded its distribution footprint to over 95 cities, achieving 100 per cent coverage across metros and Tier-II markets.

Mother Dairy, commissioned in 1974, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

The company sells milk and milk products under the ‘Mother Dairy’ brand. It markets edible oils under the ‘Dhara’ brand. Fresh fruits & vegetables, frozen vegetables, snacks, pulps and concentrates are sold under the ‘Safal’ brand.

Mother Dairy owns nine milk processing plants and four horticulture processing plants. In edible oil, the company operates through 16 associated plants.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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