All Features articles – Page 10
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Features
Metal Box members headed for master trust under DB closure plans
Members of the Metal Box Pension Scheme are set to move to a defined contribution master trust under company proposals to close the defined benefit scheme to future accrual and replace the current DC section.
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FeaturesDoctors express anger at NHS scheme failings
The leviathan NHS Pension Scheme is under fire again, with a Byzantine labyrinth of responsibilities, administration failings, and frustrations at government pensions policy infuriating medical staff.
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Features
Data Crunch: Rush of pension capital into infrastructure continues
Pension money is pouring into infrastructure. Portfolio analysis by Pensions Expert’s sister title Mandatewire reveals that the cash-generative asset is proving the perfect fit for mature defined benefit schemes, despite buyout looming for some trustees.
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Features
LGPS funds strive to make an impact with build to rent
A minor revolution is taking place in town halls across the country. Local authority pension funds are changing tack, eschewing traditional equities for alternatives, and looking to make a difference with their allocations.
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Features
Alternative risk premium funds fail to deliver on promises in testing 2018
Analysis: Pension schemes continue to pour assets into fast-growing alternative risk premium strategies, despite a torrid 2018 for returns and concerns over the diversification benefits delivered by the funds.
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Features
Caffyns appoints fiduciary manager and overhauls portfolio
Trustees of the £86m Caffyns Pension Scheme have appointed a fiduciary manager to improve the performance of the fund’s assets, leading to a restructuring of its investment portfolio.
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FeaturesLafarge pension scheme enters into longevity swap to reduce risk
The Lafarge UK Pension Plan has entered into a longevity swap with a global reinsurance company, in a bid to reduce the scheme’s exposure to longevity risk.
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Features
UK schemes slash equities following long bull market
The global financial crisis gave rise to a record-long bull run, but in recent years many DB pension funds have been preparing for the inevitable end to these highs by reducing their reliance on equities.
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FeaturesRoundtable: How to get the best bulk annuity pricing
In December 2018, business services group Rentokil Initial joined an exclusive group of companies, becoming only the second member of the FTSE 100 index to offload its entire defined benefit liabilities to an insurer.
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FeaturesGSK launches new investment options for DC members
Global healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline and the trustees of its pension plans have introduced two new defined contribution lifestyle options, responding to a change in member retirement saving behaviour following the introduction of pension freedoms in 2015.
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Features
Data crunch: Do better returns trump greater contributions?
One of pensions’ great conundrums is the question of whether the size of contributions or investment performance has the greater impact on the size of the pension pot.
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Features
Cummins scheme introduces sharia-compliant option
The Cummins UK Pension Plan has launched a fund for defined contribution members wishing to invest their pension in compliance with sharia law, while experts call for better sharia pensions provision across the UK.
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FeaturesSchools and colleges warn of ruinous £1.1bn pension hike as DfE consults
The survival of some state schools, colleges, universities and independent schools is threatened by the £1.1bn rise in the employers’ contribution to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme from 1 September 2019.
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FeaturesM&S portal launch sees 12,000 DB members sign up
Marks and Spencer has launched a new portal service for its defined benefit scheme members, offering access to pension records on demand and enabling them to complete a wide range of tasks.
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FeaturesTaylor Wimpey foresees £20m GMP funding hit
One of Britain’s largest house-building companies, Taylor Wimpey, has announced that its pension scheme liabilities will increase by up to £20m in the wake of a recent legal ruling on guaranteed minimum pensions.
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FeaturesDiageo offers PIE and writes to members after rise in DB transfers
The Diageo Pension Scheme is offering a pension increase exchange exercise to defined benefit pensioners, and has outlined plans to write to deferred and active members explaining transfer options, following a spike in members cashing out.
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FeaturesHighland scheme mulls insurance policy for ill health retirement costs
The Highland Council Pension Fund is considering the option of taking out an insurance policy to protect the scheme against substantial ill-health retirement costs.
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Features
How can we get the 'squeezed middle' saving more for retirement?
Analysis: Research has shown that 35 to 49-year-olds are worried they are not saving enough for retirement, with many facing several financial challenges. So, what can be done to help this ‘squeezed middle’ group of workers put more towards a pension?
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Features
Should there be an industry-wide methodology for measuring value?
When government boasts about being responsible for pushing almost 10m people into pension saving via auto-enrolment, you can be quite sure they want it to be a success.
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Features
Could co-sourcing be the answer to rising pensions admin woes?
Analysis: Uncertainty is an overused word in the pensions landscape, yet it is particularly appropriate when we speak of administration, which is teetering on the brink of crisis.