All Consolidation articles – Page 9
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News
Scottish Widows looks to overcome long-term market challenges
Scottish Widows has announced plans to enhance its asset allocation strategy in response to lower projected returns and potentially long-lasting volatility as a result of the coronavirus crisis, following a strategic review conducted earlier this year.
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News
One in five schemes considering superfunds
On the go: The Pensions Regulator’s interim guidance for consolidators has sparked a surge of interest by pension schemes, with one in five considering superfunds as an option for their endgame, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson.
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News
Pension superfunds could hinder insurers’ businesses
On the go: UK pension superfunds could encroach on life insurers’ bulk purchase annuity market, as the new consolidation vehicles may present employers with a more affordable alternative, according to Fitch Ratings.
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News
Government plans to push ahead with small scheme consolidation
On the go: The government looks set to press ahead with plans to encourage small schemes to consolidate, according to analysis of consultation documents by LCP.
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Regulator to focus on protecting savers amid Covid-19
On the go: The Pensions Regulator has said it will prioritise protecting savers during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as supporting schemes to continue to deliver benefits.
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OpinionTPR’s superfund green light is only the start
The Pensions Regulator’s new interim regime for superfunds has sounded that starting gun for commercial defined benefit consolidation, but there are still significant hurdles to be overcome, write Rosalind Connor and Aneliese Sweeney of Arc Pensions Law.
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PodcastsPodcast: PPF could face new court case on benefits
Podcast: After the ruling from the High Court that the Pension Protection Fund cap on deferred member benefits is illegal on age discrimination grounds, the pensions lifeboat could face a new legal challenge as members who have not reached retirement age have their benefits cut to 90 per cent, argues Ian Neale, director at Aries Insight. He and Sara Protheroe, chief customer officer at the PPF, discuss this topic, as well as the interim regime for superfunds and the implications of the new insolvency bill for pension schemes.
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News
Superfunds cleared to begin work under TPR interim regime
The Pensions Regulator is to sanction the transfer of struggling corporate defined benefit schemes into commercial consolidators aiming to secure pensions at a lower cost than insurers, under a two-part interim regime unveiled on Thursday.
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News
Regulator to issue rules for consolidators ‘in the coming weeks’
The Pensions Regulator is shortly to issue interim regulation covering commercial consolidators, Pensions Expert can reveal.
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PodcastsPodcast: 'Crystal ball-gazing' makes ethical investment tough for trustees
Trustees aiming to make ethical investment decisions can find it tough to justify them without recourse to a crystal ball, as the legal requirements are ill-defined, says Irwin Mitchell’s pensions partner Penny Cogher. In this episode she’s joined by independent consultant and long-time pensions expert Malcolm McLean for a discussion covering capital-backed endgame deals, the complications of new insolvency laws, and some morally dubious LGPS investments.
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News
Regulator to issue new guidance on capital-backed endgame deals
The Pensions Regulator is to issue new guidance on defined benefit employers seeking to use third-party investors to back the cost of buyout, following the completion of a first-of-a-kind deal without the need for regulatory clearance last week.
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News
PS Aspire pulls out of master trust market
On the go: Punter Southall Aspire has withdrawn its master trust from the market after concluding that it was unlikely to reach the necessary scale.
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News
Opperman to legislate for DC consolidation
On the go: The minister for pensions and financial inclusion has unveiled plans to force the consolidation of subscale defined contribution arrangements.
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News
Clara Pensions in talks with investors for new funding
On the go: Clara Pensions is seeking to raise between £200m and £300m from new investors, after a first fundraising in 2018.
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News
LGPS pool chair: Fragmented system cannot continue
On the go: The UK's private sector pension schemes will be forced to consolidate in the same way as the Local Government Pension Scheme, according to the chair of the Brunel Pension Partnership.
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News
Blue chips rush to offload DC pension plans to master trusts
More and more blue-chip employers are looking to transfer their defined contribution pension plans to the new breed of master trusts. The Vodafone UK DC Pension Plan is the latest to move all members’ accounts, amounting to £1.4bn, into LifeSight. The transaction is expected to be finalised by the end of March 2020.
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OpinionThe biggest driver of change in DC
Data Crunch: Over the past few years, defined contribution schemes have had to adapt to substantial changes introduced by the government and the regulators.
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News
KPMG pensions spin-off targets industry modernisation
On the go: KPMG’s former pensions advisory business has relaunched as Isio following its sale to a private equity backer, with the new company looking to grow its consolidation offering and improve the industry’s use of technology.
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PodcastsPodcast: Regulator should take ‘softly-softly’ approach to DC consolidation
Podcast: The Pensions Regulator should take a “softly-softly” approach to defined contribution consolidation, similar to what happened with master trusts during the authorisation process, where subtle conversations occurred and schemes decided to exit in an orderly manner, according to Adrian Boulding, director of policy at Now Pensions. He and Rosalind Connor, partner at Arc Pensions Law, discuss the response from the watchdog to its consultation of the future of trusteeship and governance, among other topics.
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News
Increased trustee workload to unleash wave of DC consolidation
On the go: One in three trust-based defined contribution arrangements expects to transfer members into a master trust over the next five years, with stakeholders citing the drain on time and resources of running an own-trust solution.