All articles by Benjamin Mercer – Page 35
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LCP: ‘Pot-follows-member’ could solve small pots problem
On the go: The government has been urged to look again at a ‘pot-follows-member’ solution to the small pots problem plaguing auto-enrolment and master trusts.
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Employers exiting LGPS to get new powers
On the go: Local Government Pension Scheme administering authorities and employers are to be given a host of new powers, as well as flexibility on exit payments, the government has announced.
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DB pension deficit falls £59bn in August
On the go: The aggregate deficit of the 5,422 defined benefit schemes in the Pension Protection Fund 7800 Index fell by £59bn in August.
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USS announces ‘challenging’ valuation consultation
The Universities Superannuation Scheme has launched a consultation with employers over its 2020 valuation, which at worst could present a £17.9bn deficit. But it faces a fight with the University and College Union, which said it had no confidence in the “needlessly cautious” approach taken by the USS.
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PodcastsPodcast: DB schemes could be ‘doomed to failure’ by new funding code
Podcast: Defined benefit schemes could be “doomed to failure by measures that are designed to help them”, says Baroness Ros Altmann of the proposed new funding code. She is joined by SEI’s client strategy director Alistair Jones to discuss that issue, as well as the challenges faced by master trusts, and the increasingly bizarre McCloud remedy that, though intended to tackle age discrimination, has been accused of age discrimination.
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DB schemes with ‘clean bill of health’ before pandemic
Data crunch: High levels of hedging, integrated approaches to risk management, long-term targets and clearly defined journey plans all made for sepia-tinted tranche 14 valuations.
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TPR looks to reclaim £250,000 from fraudster
On the go: The Pensions Regulator has announced it is attempting to recoup £250,000 from a convicted fraudster.
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Master trusts to face cost challenges in years ahead
The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is only the latest in a long line of structural challenges the master trust industry must face in coming years, according to a new report from the Pensions Policy Institute.
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Investors urge companies to tackle modern-day slavery in Gulf
On the go: Brunel Pension Partnership is among a group of investors calling on companies to protect migrant workers in the Gulf, over concerns that job cancellations caused by Covid-19 are forcing them into debt bondage.
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DB schemes should beware lockdown ‘inertia’
On the go: Three in four defined benefit schemes say they have taken no material action to change their investment strategies or journey plans as a result of Covid-19, but a new report from LCP warns that “inertia” could prove damaging.
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Threat of action by TPR settles sponsor dispute
On the go: The Pensions Regulator has settled a case in which a pension scheme was placed at risk by an organisational restructure, with the threat of action being sufficient to force an agreement.
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PASA issues updated Covid-19 guidance
On the go: The Pensions Administration Standards Association has issued updated guidance designed to help administrators navigate the gradual end of lockdown.
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DB scheme accounting deficits jump £13bn in a month
On the go: The accounting deficits and liability values of the defined benefit schemes of the UK’s 350 largest listed companies rose by £13bn last month alone, according to research by Mercer.
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Trustees need more pay and diversity, survey finds
On the go: Remuneration levels for trustees and chairs are not sufficient to attract skilled applicants to the roles, while fears are growing that too few trustees are entering the profession, according to a new report by Winmark and Barnett Waddingham.
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Financial illiteracy and poor support plague concerned savers
Apathy from pension providers and regulators is allowing millions of savers to sleepwalk into retirement traps, according to the findings of a series of reports into poor levels of financial education and literacy.
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PodcastsPodcast: Schemes cannot eliminate chance of cyber breach
Podcast: Pension schemes hold an extraordinary amount of personal data. Though trustees have done much since the passage of the General Data Protection Regulation to improve data security, it is impossible to remove the risk of breaches entirely. So says ITM director Maurice Titley, joined this week by Aon partner Lynda Whitney to discuss cyber security, McCloud, and Covid-19’s impact on recovery plans.
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Small pension pots put AE success at risk
Research released by the Pensions Policy Institute warned that the proliferation of small pension pots risks undermining auto-enrolment success, unless significant government intervention is undertaken.
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New DB funding code could imperil sponsors and members
Some of the proposals in the Pensions Regulator’s consultation on a new defined benefit funding code could lead to worse outcomes for scheme sponsors, members and the Pension Protection Fund, according to a new report by LCP.
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Premaberg Holdings completes £5m bulk annuity transaction
On the go: Premaberg Holdings, a manufacturer of separation and filtration systems, has completed a £5m annuity buy-in with Just Group for its Premaberg Holdings Limited Retirement Benefits Plan.
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McCloud remedy ‘must be implemented efficiently’
On the go: The Association of Consulting Actuaries has warned that the government’s proposed solutions to the McCloud dilemma “must be implemented efficiently” for each affected scheme.