All articles by Angus Peters – Page 17
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Features
Threshold adults favour medium-term saving over pensions
Analysis: The pensions industry has long been deliberating over the best way to cater for millennials currently beginning their savings journeys, but it may be time to focus on a new term – the so-called threshold adult.
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News
Communications essential as cold-calling ban takes step forward
The Department for Work and Pensions has taken a further step towards implementing a ban on cold calls related to pensions, but experts have cautioned that the delayed measure will not be sufficient on its own to stamp out scams.
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NewsMandatory tenders welcomed by pensions industry
UK pension schemes will be required to conduct competitive tender processes before hiring their first fiduciary manager, under recommendations set out by the Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday.
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News
Select committee hails CDC as 'new Beveridge' for UK pensions
Collective defined contribution schemes could usher in a new era of progress for the welfare state, according to the Work and Pensions Committee’s latest report, as the influential group of MPs seeks to increase pressure on government to facilitate the swift creation of CDC schemes.
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News
Could mastertrust consolidation result in stranded schemes?
Strict requirements for mastertrusts to contingency plan for their own demise as part of the sector’s new authorisation regime may have unintended consequences if wound-up schemes become stranded, experts have warned.
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News
Record corporate debts – a covenant warning signal?
UK companies’ net debts hit record highs over 2017/18, a new study has found, prompting concerns about how some sponsors of the UK’s defined benefit pension schemes will weather a turn in the interest rate cycle.
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News
Providers eye departure from defaults in workplace success stories
Providers at both ends of the workplace pension market are reporting positive behaviours among their membership, prompting some to suggest that the government should not instigate further increases in minimum contribution rates.
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News
Disclosure standard aims for strengthened trustee buy side
Investment consultants could be required to disclose scheme data allowing clients to judge the quality of their advice under a new performance framework, which has already attracted positive early statements from two top 10 firms including 'big three' member Mercer.
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News
Trustees warned to be vigilant before approving superfund deals
Trustees eyeing a transfer into one of the UK’s nascent superfunds must consider the viability of the acquiring consolidation vehicle before consenting to a ‘buyout-lite’ deal, the Pensions Regulator’s executive director of frontline regulation has warned.
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News
Regulator sees merit in criminal sanctions for DB sponsors
The Pensions Regulator is prepared to deploy tough new powers promised by the Department for Work and Pensions’ defined benefit white paper, although it admitted that there will be a high bar for beginning any criminal proceedings against sponsoring employers.
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News
Industry backs alternative to mandatory clearance
Requiring companies to prepare a formal statement on how corporate activity might affect their pension schemes could help protect members from being put at risk, a survey of restructuring professionals has suggested.
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FeaturesCommodity of the future: Does water have a place in pension portfolios?
In North America, an inconspicuous object the size of a tennis ball has yielded significant returns for investors in what might be considered the world's cheapest, and also the most critical, commodity.
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News
PPF chief hints at closing superfunds’ regulatory advantage
Consolidation vehicles hoping to hoover up assets from deficit-weary employers could see their prices forced upwards by tough levy requirements and insurance-style protections, the chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund has said.
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News
Time running out for DWP to book 2019 bills, Webb warns
The Department for Work and Pensions is at risk of running out of time to pass key aspects of its pensions policy agenda in 2019 due to the impact of Brexit and several measures yet to even reach a consultation stage, according to former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb.
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Opinion
How can schemes assess employer covenant strength?
Darren Redmayne chuckles good-naturedly, at what must be the thousandth time a journalist has asked whether the FTSE 100’s recently revealed accounting surplus means their defined benefit pension problems have gone away.
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News
Just Group aims for increased education on DB freedoms
Retirement provider Just Group claims it has disrupted the market for defined benefit member option exercises with a new product launch, as trustees come under increasing pressure to keep members informed about their options under freedom and choice.
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NewsBox Clever judgment sees scheme inch closer to ITV funding
The Pensions Regulator was right to seek to impose a financial support direction on ITV in relation to the Box Clever defined benefit pension scheme, according to a court judgment published on Friday.
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OpinionCarillion's post-mortem
It is not unusual for Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field to show off an impressive vocabulary when launching a salvo against political and personal foes. But even by his standards, the imagery used to put to bed the failed outsourcer Carillion has taken a turn for the macabre.
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News
Blocking dodgy transfers could stop scams, say trustees
Only a restriction of the statutory right to transfer will end pension scams, the Pensions Regulator’s leading trustee company for appointments to irregular schemes has said, as it reported a marked increase in the number of cases dealt with in recent months.
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Features
Liquid alternatives: How diversified is your DC default?
Analysis: Defined contribution default funds are facing the unenviable task of constructing diversified portfolios with limited budgets and a requirement for liquidity. Could liquid alternatives help?