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Latest news and analysis
XPS urges fiduciary manager reviews as more DB schemes consider run-on
Improved funding levels and changing DB endgames are altering what schemes need from their fiduciary managers, according to XPS Group.
Pension groups back PPF valuation changes but raise levy and Fast Track concerns
Proposed changes to PPF valuation assumptions have prompted calls for a wider rethink of s179 requirements and warnings over unintended consequences for levy calculations and Fast Track funding.
Investment latest: USS acquires rail company; Insight nets £1bn mandate
USS has agreed to take over a rail freight company, while Insight is to help facilitate surplus sharing through a £1bn mandate with an unnamed DB pension scheme.
Appointments: Canada Life, L&G, Dalriada, IGG, Hymans, Aon, Squire Patton Boggs
The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 11 September 2026.
Bulk annuities latest: M&G strikes £100m ‘BPA-plus’ deal with financial services firm
The bulk annuity deal is combined with M&G’s With-Profits Fund to give access to potential additional investment returns. Plus, Just Group insures a manufacturer’s scheme for £11m.
Timpsons backs new CDC launch Arboreum Pensions
High street chain Timpsons and food group Vestey are behind the launch of Arboreum Pensions, the latest collective defined contribution pension scheme to apply to the Pensions Regulator for approval.
In Depth: Pensions UK’s responses to crucial consultations as reform takes shape
With a trio of crucial consultations concluding this month, Nick Reeve explores what the pensions industry’s trade association is lobbying for and how it hopes to shape major reforms.
Uncertainty grows over renting costs in retirement, research shows
A Royal London survey estimates that six million people don’t know how they will pay their rent or mortgage in retirement, as evidence mounts of the impending housing crisis for future pensioners.
Comment
Prospect: Self-employed workers need more help to save for retirement
Steve Thomas, deputy general secretary of the trade union Prospect, says it is not enough just to encourage more saving among self-employed people – they need a sustainable, affordable way to do so.
Sharing is caring: making the right call in surplus release decisions
Maggie Rodger, co-chair of the Association of Member Nominated Trustees, explains her organisation’s response to the surplus release consultation and the crucial factors all parties need to consider.
Are AI tools fuelling an emerging pension complaints risk?
Generative AI can turn member dissatisfaction into a detailed complaint within minutes. Trustees should respond by strengthening the support provided before retirement decisions are made, writes Guiide’s Philip Hodges.
Can the Pensions Commission address systematically unequal outcomes?
The debate over automatic enrolment reform highlights the difficulty of improving retirement outcomes for low earners. As fresh analysis from the Pensions Policy Institute makes clear, even widely supported changes involve trade-offs.
Latest features
In Depth: Pensions UK’s responses to crucial consultations as reform takes shape
With a trio of crucial consultations concluding this month, Nick Reeve explores what the pensions industry’s trade association is lobbying for and how it hopes to shape major reforms.
Sizing up the challenge: Managing the transition from buy-in to buyout
Insurers and consultants are confident about their ability to handle the high volume of bulk annuity deals, but juggling demand for resources as schemes transition from buy-in to buyout could be tricky, as Bradley Gerrard reports.
Climate, liquidity, AI: What investment committees should be thinking about
With two-thirds of 2026 behind us, Pensions Expert asks investment consultants for the key risks and opportunities that should be on trustees’ agendas going into the autumn.
Inside the deal: How collaboration helped Mercer’s master trust seal a triple buy-in
As the derisking options for small defined benefit pension schemes increase, experts from Stephenson Harwood and Mercer share insights on how pooled arrangements have been able to secure insurance deals for some of the smallest clients.
CDC: Pensions industry showing cautious interest in new model, polls show
As legislation facilitating collective defined contribution pension schemes edges closer, professionals are eager to discover what the new model could bring. However, the consensus is not universal, as Sara Benwell and Nick Reeve report.
In Depth: Pensions UK’s responses to crucial consultations as reform takes shape
Sizing up the challenge: Managing the transition from buy-in to buyout
Climate, liquidity, AI: What investment committees should be thinking about
Inside the deal: How collaboration helped Mercer’s master trust seal a triple buy-in
CDC: Pensions industry showing cautious interest in new model, polls show
Latest on Defined Benefit
XPS urges fiduciary manager reviews as more DB schemes consider run-on
Improved funding levels and changing DB endgames are altering what schemes need from their fiduciary managers, according to XPS Group.
Pension groups back PPF valuation changes but raise levy and Fast Track concerns
Proposed changes to PPF valuation assumptions have prompted calls for a wider rethink of s179 requirements and warnings over unintended consequences for levy calculations and Fast Track funding.
Investment latest: USS acquires rail company; Insight nets £1bn mandate
USS has agreed to take over a rail freight company, while Insight is to help facilitate surplus sharing through a £1bn mandate with an unnamed DB pension scheme.
Bulk annuities latest: M&G strikes £100m ‘BPA-plus’ deal with financial services firm
The bulk annuity deal is combined with M&G’s With-Profits Fund to give access to potential additional investment returns. Plus, Just Group insures a manufacturer’s scheme for £11m.
People news
Appointments: Canada Life, L&G, Dalriada, IGG, Hymans, Aon, Squire Patton Boggs
The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 11 September 2026.
Appointments: Cartwright boosts special projects team; new tech chief at Mobius
The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 4 September 2026.
Appointments: USS recruits senior PE expert; Fiera appoints ex-LGPS Central boss
The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 28 August 2026.
Appointments: Dalriada, Cleveland & Co, Broadstone, Aptia, Standard Life
The latest hires, promotions and appointments for the week ending 21 August 2026.
Latest videos from Pensions Expert
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Latest on Defined Contribution
Timpsons backs new CDC launch Arboreum Pensions
High street chain Timpsons and food group Vestey are behind the launch of Arboreum Pensions, the latest collective defined contribution pension scheme to apply to the Pensions Regulator for approval.
In Depth: Pensions UK’s responses to crucial consultations as reform takes shape
With a trio of crucial consultations concluding this month, Nick Reeve explores what the pensions industry’s trade association is lobbying for and how it hopes to shape major reforms.
Uncertainty grows over renting costs in retirement, research shows
A Royal London survey estimates that six million people don’t know how they will pay their rent or mortgage in retirement, as evidence mounts of the impending housing crisis for future pensioners.
Scale expectations must be grounded in reality, industry says
The government’s aim to create £25bn defined contribution “megafunds” needs more flexibility and to reflect how assets are invested and governed in practice, according to responses to its latest consultation.
Latest on Dashboards
‘Life moments’ are key engagement points for employers, says WTW
Trustees and scheme managers expect members to use dashboards primarily around retirement and job changes rather than checking them regularly, according to the consultancy giant.
Bell says dashboard ‘has improved data quality’ as launch confirmed for 2027
The DWP has confirmed that 85% of schemes have connected to the dashboard ecosystem, with all in-scope schemes expected to meet the 31 October statutory connection deadline.
Always A Pensions Angle: Fit for the Future, Dashboards, and Retirement Living Standards
This week sees the podcast team looking at the LGPS, which has a little more time to get Fit for the Future as some important deadlines have been extended. There are also updates on dashboards, AI, and Retirement Living Standards.
Major master trusts collaborate to cut pension transfer times
Providers including Nest, the People’s Pension, Smart Pension, and Now Pension have established Pathfinder, a working group that will explore “practical ways to improve pension transfers”.
