Scottish Independence Referendum Result

The Scots have voted not to leave the union and instead will stick around and give marriage counselling a go.  Both sides have agreed, however, that they need to feel important and recognised in their own right and therefore Scotland should be given the power and freedom to exercise more of our will within the union.

How does this affect the pension industry?  To be honest I’m not very sure, regardless of the result today it was going to be a head scratcher.  Nothing has changed but so much may still.

A ‘Yes’ vote would have meant around 18 months of negotiations before we settled on the pound or another form of currency (perhaps the ‘smackeroo’ as Kevin Bridges suggested?)  and possibly longer as the transition or possibly even sharing of regulatory regimes was agreed.

A ‘No’ vote provides certainty on currency and regulations but with all parties promising greater devolution, do we now have to wait until after the General Election to know what they will be and whether pensions will be affected?  Will this extend uncertainty and/or have a long term impact on markets?

The more things stay the same the more they change…