In these times of austerity pension scheme trustees and managers can now take advantage of technology to make substantial savings following changes in legislation.
Previously, all members of workplace pension schemes had to be provided with documents and information about their benefits, either...
The High Court has upheld Prudential’s decision in 2005 to cap pension increases under its staff pension scheme at 2.5%. The scheme rules gave Prudential discretion over pension increases. Members, who had previously been granted full RPI increases, had argued that capping the increases was...
Unilever is closing its final salary plan to existing employee members and offering new pension arrangements similar to those introduced for new joiners in 2008.
The company has announced that it will be entering into consultation with its employees in the UK this summer. Under the proposed new...
New proposals to create a harmonised funding regime for pension schemes throughout the European Union could force UK employers to pay off deficits more quickly, according to Towers Watson.
The European Commission has told the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) that...
Twelve per cent of UK pension schemes have suffered from incidents of fraud in the last 24 months, with large schemes (more than 10,000 members) being worst hit, according to research conducted by accountancy firm Baker Tilly.
Schemes with less than 1,000 members reported no evidence of...
Private sector pension schemes have a deficit of £63bn (2010 £156bn) according to JLT Pension Capital Strategies (PCS) as at 31 March 2011. Total pension fund assets are £993bn (2010 £928bn) while liabilities are £1,056bn (2010 £1,084bn) and the funding level...
The covenant comparison is key to pension plan buyouts, says Akash Rooprai, Mercer
A key consideration when buying out defined benefit pension liabilities is the strength of the chosen insurer’s financial covenant, compared to the existing overall covenant supporting the pension plan. It is not always a straightforward comparison but a robust investigation can help you...
A dispute over whether occupational defined benefit (DB) pension schemes should have to pay VAT on investment management services has been referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The challenge against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been jointly brought by the National Association...
A record number of final salary pension schemes have closed their doors to future contributions from existing members according to the National Association of Pension Funds’ (NAPF) latest annual survey.
One in five (17%) schemes have shut their pension to both new and existing members....
Monitoring the employer covenant is particularly important during this fragile economic recovery reports Allison Plager
The recent recession has shown that it is not possible to be certain that the economy is always going to flourish. Politicians may rashly promise the end of “boom and bust”, but in reality, given the global nature of finance and business, this is not a promise easily kept. The UK...
Fraser Smart, Buck Consultants, explains why trustees and sponsors should work together on managing defined benefit liabilities
With so many schemes moving into the “end game” phase as they close to future accrual, the key issue is how long it will take for sponsors to eliminate all of the liabilities. For some businesses, this has become a major focus since they recognise the premium placed by financial...
Supplanting RPI with CPI as a measure of inflation for pension increases is set to wipe almost £60bn off UK private sector pension liabilities by the end of 2011 reveals the KPMG Pensions Accounting Survey 2011.
The survey also shows that life expectancies are also stabilising which...
Pension buyouts totalled £8.1bn in 2010, an increase of 8% from 2009, according to JLT Pension Capital Strategies (PCS), with £1.6bn of deals completed in the fourth quarter. These huge sums are set to continue as PCS forecasts that buyouts will exceed £10bn in 2011.
Buyout...
A record number of final salary pension schemes have closed their doors to future contributions from existing members, the latest National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) annual survey has revealed.
It showed that one in five (17%) schemes have shut their pension to both new and existing...
Speaking at the NAPF investment conference in Edinburgh on Friday 11 March, Lord Hutton, who published his final report on the reform of public service pensions the previous day, said: “I am not advocating a ‘race to the bottom’. I would regard this as a counsel of despair....
Pension schemes have a final chance to reduce their 2011/12 Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levies, potentially saving millions of pounds, but they must remember to take action ahead of the 31 March deadline, says Aon Hewitt.
PPF annual levies for 2011/12, which are payable by UK defined benefit...
NAPF Chairman sets out three big challenges ahead
The last year has been a bittersweet experience for those of us involved in pensions policy. On the one hand we can see the elements of future pensions policy falling into place in a way that we haven’t seen in my working lifetime. But on the other, we can see defined benefit pension...
Protection against longevity risk has finally become a reality explains Andrew Ward, Mercer
Those following the fortunes of pension schemes over the last decade will be well acquainted with the concept of risk. Fluctuations in equity and credit markets and adverse movements in discount rates have hit funding levels and required additional contributions. Nonetheless, most sponsors and...
Michael Burt, Mercer, looks at the constantly changing requirements for trustee executive support
The pensions world has moved on apace over the last decade and does not appear to be slowing down. Not only have trustees’ workloads increased significantly, but the way schemes are managed has also changed. In a world of as it happens news and instant communications, trustees want to be...
Promoting high quality and secure workplace pensions is surely the right thing to do for future generations urges Lindsay Tomlinson, NAPF chairman
UK workplace pensions are now clearly in a state of transition. If current trends persist, pension provision for future generations of workers will be via defined contribution (DC) arrangements. And in his outgoing speech as chairman of the Pensions Regulator, David Norgrove acknowledged that...
