All articles by Angus Peters – Page 20
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Opinion
Market Outlook 2018: Storms in the distance?
For a bull run that has been thought of as the most hated in history, the years since the global financial crisis have been kind to pension scheme asset values.
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Features
Do UK DB schemes have a covenant problem?
Analysis: Sponsor covenant and failed defined benefit promises are in the headlines again with the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion. Could the liquidation be indicative of a wider national inability to pay pensions, and how should trustees react to a deterioration in their covenant?
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NewsCarillion collapse sparks calls for better DB rules
The collapse of Carillion and impending transfer of some of its defined benefit members into the Pension Protection Fund has raised questions about the suitability of existing pensions laws.
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News
Four priorities for McVey's DWP
The Department for Work and Pensions got its fifth boss in less than two years on Monday evening, with Theresa May’s Cabinet reshuffle replacing David Gauke with Esther McVey as secretary of state responsible for the department.
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News
Could flexible pension products help indebted millennials?
News analysis: More than a quarter of London’s millennial population are permanently in debt, it has been revealed. What role does pensions policy play in their financial health, and could more flexible solutions improve their situation?
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News
Bulk annuity transfers to pass £15bn in 2018
2018 will be the first year in which buyouts and buy-ins for UK defined benefit schemes exceed £15bn, consultancy LCP has predicted, with improved funding levels and keen insurer pricing helping to establish a “new normal” in the bulk annuity market.
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NewsPPF praised for tough line on Toys R Us insolvency talks
The pensions industry has welcomed the tough stance taken by the Pension Protection Fund in its negotiations with struggling retailer Toys R Us, saying it will encourage companies not to take their pension responsibilities lightly.
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News
TPR gets stronger, the government weaker: Top 5 law and regulation stories from 2017
Year in review: If the UK government’s all-consuming struggle to strike a beneficial Brexit deal can bring any relief to pensions professionals, it is that departments have not had time for the pensions tinkering so despised by the industry.
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NewsBritish Steel saga raises questions on advice market and transfers
News analysis: Steelworker Rich Caddy has regrets about his choice to transfer out of the British Steel Pension Scheme.
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Opinion
Industry is divided over Royal Mail's CDC proposal
Pressure is mounting on the Department for Work and Pensions to lay regulations for collective defined contribution, after mediation between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union recommended lobbying government to facilitate their creation of a CDC scheme.
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NewsTrustees and consultants urged to up their game in transparency push
The chair of the Financial Conduct Authority’s working group on cost disclosure has spoken out about a dangerous fixation with net performance in the pensions industry, insisting that granular data is needed for the recent transparency drive to have any effect.
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FeaturesBAE actuarial switch sidesteps funding slump
BAE Systems has ditched gilts-based valuations for its UK defined benefit schemes after gaining regulatory approval, freezing its deficit at 2014 levels and sparking controversy in the pensions industry.
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Features
De La Rue cuts pension increases to ease funding pressures
Trustees of the De La Rue defined benefit pension scheme have agreed to cut inflation-proofing on member benefits, wiping an estimated £70m off the security specialist’s accounting deficit.
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NewsEconomic gloom overshadows quiet Budget for pensions
Autumn Budget 2017: With chancellor Philip Hammond omitting pensions almost entirely from his speech, it was, as Barnett Waddingham senior consultant Malcolm McLean put it, a “steady as you go Budget”.
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News
A million older workers fall into unemployment trap
An “unemployment trap” preventing older people from finding jobs requires a rethink of pensions and benefits policy, a new report claimed on Tuesday, as state pension age increases threaten to harm those left out of the labour market.
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News
Covenant risk is dominating the DB agenda
Defined benefit trustees are becoming increasingly concerned about the strength of their employer covenants, a new survey has revealed, as Brexit uncertainty feeds into broader concerns about the future of sponsors.
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News
Seven in 10 professional trustees want standards body
Professional trustees have called for a body to set standards and monitor performance in the industry, but experts have cautioned against any measure that threatens the level of cognitive diversity on trustee boards.
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News
DWP draft regulations to open up DC consolidation
The Department for Work and Pensions has attempted to smooth the path towards consolidation of defined contribution arrangements with draft regulations published on Thursday.
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NewsFCA: Half of UK adults show signs of financial vulnerability
The Financial Conduct Authority’s largest survey of UK consumers’ financial habits has identified concerns around financial resilience and undersaving, as experts urge improvements to the auto-enrolment framework.
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NewsHPE pensioners to bring inflation-proofing dispute before MPs
Pensioners of Hewlett Packard Enterprise are lobbying the government to force their former employer to provide inflation protection for pension rights built up before 1997, and have gained cross-party support for legislation.