All AVCs articles
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NewsOmbudsman hits Teachers’ Pensions with maladministration fine
The Pensions Ombudsman has fined Teachers’ Pensions £500 for maladministration after it failed to adequately inform a member about the rules around breaks in pensionable service, but dismissed the member’s argument that the fine should be increased to the minimum required in cases of employment discrimination.
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NewsOmbudsman fines Capita for substandard administration
The Pensions Ombudsman has told Capita to pay £500 to a disgruntled scheme member as its communications “fell below the standards of good administration”, though the member’s substantive complaint was not upheld.
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NewsDLUHC rules out requirement for LGPS to provide life assurance AVCs
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has confirmed there is no regulatory requirement to provide life assurance additional voluntary contributions under the 2013 regulations governing the Local Government Pension Scheme, but said it will consider amending the rules to clarify matters.
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NewsPASA encourages additional checks for dashboards ‘value data’
On the go: The Pensions Administration Standards Association has issued guidance on ‘value data’ for pension dashboards, advising providers that this “complex” area of the dashboard programme will require additional backend calculations and preparedness.
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NewsPodcast: Ball in TPR’s court as DB funding code consultation launches
Podcast: The consultation into the defined benefit funding code by the Department for Work and Pensions hints at a prescriptive regime to come, but the Pensions Regulator must improve on its “rubbish” code of practice draft, according to Zedra client director Richard Butcher. He and Hymans Robertson partner Laura McLaren discuss the next steps, stronger nudge concerns, and assess the health of pensions post-Maxwell.
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NewsDB goliaths call for AVCs stronger nudge exemption
Seven defined benefit schemes with £217bn in assets have asked for Work and Pensions committee intervention due to concerns regarding ‘stronger nudge’ requirements, which they believe are not fit for purpose.
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NewsSome DB schemes will be subject to ‘stronger nudge’ requirements
On the go: Some defined benefit schemes will have to comply with the Department for Work and Pensions’ new “stronger nudge” requirements, due to come into force on June 1, dispelling suggestions that only defined contribution schemes would be affected.
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NewsUSS and University of Southampton make AVC blunder
On the go: The Pensions Ombudsman has partially upheld a complaint against the University of Southampton and the Universities Superannuation Scheme trustee after a communication lapse saw a member continue to make annual voluntary contributions after her policy had ended.
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NewsOmbudsman orders NHS members payouts after admin errors
The Pensions Ombudsman partly upheld two complaints against NHS scheme administrators in February and March after years of benefit miscalculations and misinformation about additional contributions, ordering payouts for two members.
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NewsPrudential reports itself to regulator over AVC failings
Prudential reported itself last year to the Pensions Regulator, as a perfect storm of IT problems and coronavirus-led disruption pushed customers looking to cash out their additional voluntary contributions into long delays.
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NewsRailways scheme appoints L&G as flexible retirement solution provider
On the go: The £32bn Railways Pension Scheme has appointed Legal & General to provide members with access to a drawdown arrangement within its WorkSave Pension Mastertrust.
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News
Government urged to force matching of voluntary contributions
The government should force employers to match voluntary pension contributions made above auto-enrolment minimums, according to investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.
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Opinion
What's the outlook for DC in 2017?
Defined contribution adequacy and stagnant investments were key concerns for trustees in 2016, so what do experts think the new year has in store for DC?
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Features
Three ways to trim your liabilities in 2016
Analysis: While many defined benefit schemes have yet to explore ways to provide enhanced flexibility to members, there are three key strategies in this area that could ease the pressure of mounting liabilities in 2016.
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FeaturesCovenant lessons from the Greek crisis
Any Other Business: Alexis Tsipras was forced to yield to an aggressive economic supervision programme by eurozone leaders on Monday and agreed to hand over €50bn (£36bn) of Greek assets for privatisation, bank recapitalisation and debt repayment.
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OpinionHappiness in a DC world – start with AVCs
From the blog:“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and six pence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds [n]ought and six, result misery."
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News
DB schemes face decision over AVC funds
Defined benefit trustees are seeking to rationalise their additional voluntary contribution accounts as new rules come into play about how such accounts are managed.
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Opinion
How DB plans with AVCs are affected by the reforms
The new pension flexibilities which came into force on April 6 apply as much to money purchase additional voluntary contributions in defined benefit schemes as they do to pure defined contribution schemes.
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Opinion
Ready or not: pensions administration post-April 2015
The 2014 Budget rewrote the rule book on retirement benefits, ushering in massively expanded flexibility for defined contribution members, while simultaneously throwing down some fairly significant challenges for scheme administrators.
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News
BA allows AVC transfer to meet flexibility demand as schemes seek middle way
British Airways’ pension schemes have introduced a new additional voluntary contribution transfer option allowing members to take advantage of the greater retirement flexibility available after April.