All Consolidation articles – Page 8
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News
Arcadia, Debenhams the first high street dominoes to fall
High street retailer Debenhams became the latest domino to fall following the collapse of Philip Green’s Arcadia Group on Monday, with the pension schemes of both now entering the Pension Protection Fund assessment period.
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News
Master trusts warn cost concerns overshadowing investment quality
Data crunch: Master trust providers are concerned that their clients excessively focus on cost to the detriment of investment propositions, according to a report by the Defined Contribution Investment Forum.
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News
PPF reserves could be ‘wiped out’ by one or two big claims
Pension Protection Fund chief executive Oliver Morley has warned that the lifeboat’s reserves could be wiped out by just a few large claims, while downplaying the risk of a post-Covid run of small-scheme claims.
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OpinionPressure builds on small DC schemes to consolidate
Covid-19 looks to be accelerating the trend towards consolidation in the defined contribution industry, and the UK government is keen to see the transition take place at an even faster pace.
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News
Labour pushes climate change, superfunds, dashboard amendments
Senior Labour party figures including leader Keir Starmer have put their names to a series of amendments to the pension schemes bill, covering climate change targets, superfunds legislation and the pensions dashboards.
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Features
Professional trustees: ‘quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’
Analysis: With consolidation now the name of the game in the small world of pensions, trustee conflicts of interest could harm millions of pension scheme members’ prospects, as schemes eye superfunds and master trusts with vast sums at stake in fees.
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FeaturesImproved governance is driving consolidation in DC
Data crunch: Consolidation is an ongoing and pervasive trend in UK pensions. The push is being driven by the government and regulators, who believe small schemes deliver poor outcomes for their members, a problem that can be alleviated by scale.
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News
Covid leaves Northern Ireland Water deficit recovery in rough sea
Northern Ireland Water could have to pay an additional £4.6m a year in deficit repair contributions to its scheme, but uncertainty about how Covid-19 has impacted its investment and ongoing negotiations with trustees makes it hard to gauge its recovery plan.
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News
Regulator unveils superfunds guidance for trustees
The Pensions Regulator has published new guidance for defined benefit schemes transferring into a commercial consolidation 'superfund', placing the burden of proof on trustees to show that their plan is in members' best interests.
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News
Punter Southall revives multi-employer concept in consolidator
As consolidation offers multiply in the defined benefit market and superfunds wait for their first transactions, Punter Southall is proposing a revival of the multi-employer concept for smaller schemes, which could bring their sponsors savings of 80 per cent.
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OpinionPrivate sector consolidators can learn from LGPS pooling
In June, the Pensions Regulator gave the green light for the establishment of the first private superfunds, in which individual private sector defined benefit pension schemes will be able to pool assets and liabilities with no recourse to their sponsor.
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PodcastsPodcast: Arguments for DC consolidation stronger than for DB
Podcast: The pace of defined contribution consolidation could accelerate on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic, but mergers are a less obvious boon for define benefit, say Squire Patton Boggs partner Kirsty Bartlett and Hadassah Shulman, senior associate at Taylor Wessing.
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News
Mercer launches DB master trust as demand for consolidation increases
Mercer has launched a new defined benefit master trust promising sponsors enhanced governance and economies of scale, amid an accelerating trend towards consolidation and outsourced solutions, with pensions minister Guy Opperman stating that “bigger is better”.
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News
Scottish Widows snares top hire from Legal & General
Veteran professional David Butcher has just taken on a new dual role as a member of the master trust board and independent governance committee at Scottish Widows, moving from Legal & General’s master trust board.
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News
Covid and regulatory burdens push building society to outsource scheme
With the work of lay trustees becoming more complex, and the pandemic highlighting other areas in need of sponsors’ attention, the Furness Building Society has opted to outsource services for its defined benefit scheme, a trend that is expected to accelerate.
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News
Smaller schemes to prove value for members or face consolidation
Defined contribution schemes with assets below £100m will have to prove their value for members, or face being advised to wind up or consolidate, according to new rules proposed by the Department for Work and Pensions.
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OpinionMaster trusts hit by ‘perfect storm’
Data crunch: Defined contribution master trusts are going to work. That is as certain as the success of automatic enrolment.
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PodcastsPodcast: TPR to make changes to DB funding ‘fast-track’
Podcast: The Pensions Regulator will make changes to the fast-track approach proposed in its defined benefit funding consultation due to the impact of Covid-19, revealed its executive director of regulatory policy, analysis and advice David Fairs.
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News
Trend towards master trusts continues apace
On the go: The rate at which FTSE 250 companies move to master trusts as their main defined contribution vehicle is set to accelerate over the next two years, according to a new report from Willis Towers Watson.
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News
Formal superfunds authorisation could take 5 years
The Pensions Regulator anticipates that it could take five years for the government to put in place a statutory authorisation framework to oversee defined benefit superfunds, as it looks ahead to publishing specific guidance for trustees considering a transfer to the new vehicles.