All Features articles – Page 14
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Features
Why DC default investments matter for members
Analysis: More than 90 per cent of savers enrolled in a pension choose to remain in the default option, making it imperative that its investments match members’ needs and offer value for money.
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Features
Solving consultancy's transparency problem
Analysis: The first findings to be presented by the Competition and Markets Authority show that no one is squeaky clean in the investment consulting and fiduciary management businesses. How can both products become more transparent?
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FeaturesGeneral Medical Council swallows DB closure pill
The General Medical Council is set to close its defined benefit scheme to future accrual from April 1 2018, and is in talks with the trustees regarding additional funding.
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FeaturesBMA rebukes NHSE and Capita over admin 'fiasco'
The British Medical Association – the trade union and professional association for doctors and medical students – has been lobbying for improvements to the administration of the NHS Pension Scheme after member complaints and a motion by GPs last year to address issues with third-party administrator Capita.
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Features
Can you run your scheme better than a sole trustee?
Analysis: Defined benefit trustee boards are finding it increasingly difficult to source a full complement of member-nominated trustees, as final salary becomes a legacy benefit system. Is the rise of the sole corporate trustee inevitable?
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FeaturesPwC schemes cut property from portfolio
PwC's two defined benefit pension schemes have removed property from their investment strategies and made a number of changes to their fixed income allocations.
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Features
RLB tech engagement drive yields positive results
Quantity surveyor Rider Levett Bucknall has seen a marked increase in staff engagement with their pensions after it introduced an app for savers to view their pension savings and offered face-to-face meetings with experts.
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FeaturesTeesside invests in energy storage ahead of pooling
The £3.9bn Middlesbrough Borough Council Teesside Pension Fund has invested in operational grid-scale energy storage assets, through the British Strategic Investment Fund.
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FeaturesLadbrokes Coral Group shares its trustee board
High street bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral Group has appointed a single trustee board for its pension plans following a company merger, a move experts say can improve efficiency and consistency.
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Features
It is time to take scheme administration more seriously
Analysis: The nuclear fallout from the demise of Carillion and the continued woes of Capita have dominated news bulletins in recent weeks.
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FeaturesBritish Coal members raise Capita admin concerns
The £9.4bn British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme has had to calm member concerns at its 2017 annual meeting over its decision to appoint Capita as its administrator last year.
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Features
Leicestershire fund boosts death benefit security for children
Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund has introduced additional requirements for legal guardians responsible for children’s pensions and death grants, where the guardian’s nomination has been the subject of dispute.
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FeaturesRobo-trustees: Would you welcome one on your board?
Any other business: For those feeling uneasy about the idea of sitting next to a Star Wars-style droid at a quarterly meeting, you can rest assured we are not likely to witness the rise of the robo-trustee anytime soon.
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FeaturesSouth Yorks plumps for alts as equity concerns bite
The South Yorkshire Pension Fund is trimming its equity exposure and allocating to a range of alternatives, as part of a wide-ranging review that reaffirms the fund’s commitment to environmental, social and governance-based principles.
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FeaturesShipbuilding scheme latest to invest in private debt
The Shipbuilding Industries Pension Scheme has made a £50m commitment to private debt, as investors increase their exposure to this asset class in the search for yield.
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FeaturesLincolnshire council fund encounters data difficulties
The £2.2bn Lincolnshire County Council Pension Fund has had ‘amber’ reviews over administration and training.
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Features
Is it time to return to equities?
Analysis: Investors are the most overweight in equities relative to government bonds since August 2014. Might pension schemes share in this bullish outlook on equities?
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Features
Do UK DB schemes have a covenant problem?
Analysis: Sponsor covenant and failed defined benefit promises are in the headlines again with the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion. Could the liquidation be indicative of a wider national inability to pay pensions, and how should trustees react to a deterioration in their covenant?
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FeaturesDelivering the ill health pension
Any other business: Illness is an unconventional path to a pension transfer. But for the thousands of employees every year rendered unable to work through sickness, surviving financially through the mercy of an early pension might make all the difference.
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FeaturesUnilever forks out £600m to tackle £1.2bn DB deficit
Unilever has contributed £600m to its scheme, after an actuarial valuation revealed a £1.2bn deficit. Meanwhile, the trustees have taken steps to ensure they can act quickly should there be a significant corporate event.