All Defined benefit articles – Page 88
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News
Debenhams’ schemes to remain in PPF despite Boohoo acquisition
On the go: Struggling high street retailer Debenhams has been brought out of administration by online ‘fast fashion’ outlet Boohoo, but the transaction is understood to leave its two pension schemes in the Pension Protection Fund.
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News
UK schemes lobby ministers over climate ambitions
Some of the UK’s largest pension schemes have written to prime minister Boris Johnson and other senior politicians calling for strong action on climate change ahead of the COP26 conference in November.
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News
TPR under pressure to ‘show teeth’ after corporate failures
On the go: The Pensions Regulator will come under pressure from the industry to “show its teeth” when dealing with the recent Arcadia failure and ensuring the best outcome for members, Royal London has warned.
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News
How schemes can navigate the post-Covid recovery
Defined benefit schemes should use the post-Covid recovery to conduct a thorough postmortem of the effects of 2020’s events on their portfolios and strategies, according to Barnett Waddingham.
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News
‘Challenging’ 2020 forces 80% of DB schemes to reassess portfolios
On the go: Eighty per cent of defined benefit pension schemes plan to reassess their investment portfolios after the events of 2020 put returns in doubt, according to research by the Pensions Management Institute and River and Mercantile.
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News
USS at risk of missing 2020 valuation deadline
The Universities Superannuation Scheme is at risk of missing the statutory deadline for its 2020 valuation, according to its chief executive, Bill Galvin.
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News
Evonik schemes strike bulk annuity deal with L&G
On the go: Chemical company Evonik UK has concluded a £544m full buy-in for four of its UK pension schemes with Legal & General.
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News
Clarity on dashboards, but delays taint Pension Schemes Act
The government fought off opposition amendments to the Pension Schemes Act in the House of Lords on Tuesday, keeping its dashboards options open — but experts have warned that many of the act’s more substantive changes could be delayed until 2022.
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Podcasts
Podcast: New powers in Pension Schemes Act could cause bankruptcies
Podcast: New criminal provisions in the Pension Schemes Act are so broadly drafted that they could strangle legitimate business activity, potentially resulting in unnecessary bankruptcies. So says Arc Pensions Law partner Jane Kola, who, along with Society of Pension Professionals president James Riley, warn about the potentially dire consequences and call for more clarity from the regulator. More cheerfully, this inauguration day episode also covers the future of actuaries, small pots, and Donald Trump’s pension.
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News
Market volatility to provide more derisking opportunities this year
On the go: Readiness to execute pension risk transfer deals will be key to derisking strategies this year, according to Willis Towers Watson.
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Opinion
Small schemes lagging larger peers on cost transparency
Data crunch: The release last week of the government’s response to the ‘Review of the default fund charge cap and standardised cost disclosure’ has resulted in me being repeatedly asked for my thoughts on the conclusions.
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News
Altmann lambasts ‘shocking’ FCA DB transfer findings
On the go: Former pensions minister Ros Altmann has criticised the Financial Conduct Authority for being slow to ban contingent charging on defined benefit transfer advice, and allowing advice companies to operate without relevant insurance.
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News
Minnows make land grab from Big Four as audit fees set to rise
The cosy oligarchy of the Big Four accounting firms — PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG — is set to be shaken up in 2021 as mid-tier companies eye their bread-and-butter work of pension scheme auditing.
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News
DB transfers falling as advice provision declines
On the go: The number of people transferring out of defined benefit pension schemes fell in the 18 months to the end of March 2020, according to new data from the Financial Conduct Authority.
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News
FCA releases DB transfer advice assessment tool
On the go: The City watchdog has released an assessment tool to help financial advisers understand whether the defined benefit pension transfer advice they have given was suitable.
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News
New pensions act offences have ‘far-reaching consequences’, LCP warns
On the go: New powers granted to the Pensions Regulator by the Pension Schemes Act could see directors, lenders and trustees made criminally liable for their mistakes, LCP has warned.
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News
Flat fees ban is a ‘sticking plaster’ on small pots wound
The Department for Work and Pensions’ proposed ban on flat fees on pots under £100 should be seen as a temporary stopgap, not a permanent solution to the small pots problem, industry figures have warned.
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News
Marie Curie scheme completes £30m buy-in
On the go: The £30.8m Marie Curie Cancer Care Pension Scheme has agreed a full-scheme bulk annuity transaction worth around £30m with Legal & General.
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News
New DB funding code could be delayed until 2022
The Pensions Regulator has issued an interim response that experts say could presage meaningful changes to the final version of the defined benefit funding code, which is likely to be delayed until 2022.
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News
Opperman guarantees none of TPR’s new powers will be retrospective
On the go: The minister for pensions and financial inclusion has guaranteed that the Pensions Regulator’s new criminal sanctions and information-gathering powers will not be applied retrospectively.