All Features articles – Page 25
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Features
Secondhand annuity market takes shape but risk of poor deals looms
Analysis: The government has confirmed it will soften the tax hit for those looking to take advantage of the secondary annuity market, but some experts are concerned the financial services industry holds all the cards in getting the best deal.
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Features
Three ways to trim your liabilities in 2016
Analysis: While many defined benefit schemes have yet to explore ways to provide enhanced flexibility to members, there are three key strategies in this area that could ease the pressure of mounting liabilities in 2016.
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FeaturesCash flow crisis: How to avoid becoming a forced seller
Sweeping closures of defined benefit schemes across the UK will limit the pain of future liabilities for sponsors, but have created a growing problem many pension funds have been slow to recognise: a cash flow crisis is on the horizon.
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Features
Royal Mail closure plan flags pulldown effect of low rates
The perennial question of whether it is possible to keep defined benefit schemes open to accrual has resurfaced after Royal Mail Group said it could not afford to keep its DB scheme open beyond 2018.
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Features
Shropshire profits from infra but schemes struggle to fill targets
Shropshire County Pension Fund’s infrastructure investment gained 40 per cent during 2014/15, but entry into the asset class remains a challenge for some UK pension funds.
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FeaturesMNRPF takes proactive step to monitor its fiduciary manager
Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund has created a three-person oversight committee to monitor the performance of its newly appointed fiduciary manager, an area of scheme investment that is notoriously difficult to benchmark.
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Features
Clwyd completes strategic overhaul on the back of strong returns
Clwyd Pension Fund reaped rewards during 2015 as it implemented the final pieces of a strategic overhaul aimed at reducing costs and risk without compromising returns.
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Features
How UK plc is responding to the challenges of an ageing workforce
Data Analysis: UK employers are waking up to the reality of increasing longevity but government, the pensions industry and individuals need to redouble their efforts in order to combat the financial risks it poses.
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Features
Long-term view clouded by uncertainty for LGPS
Long-term risk-reduction planning remains the priority for the Local Government Pension Scheme, but growing uncertainty about the future is making it difficult for member funds to carve out strategic objectives.
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Features
Actuaries up the ante on auto-enrolment contribution levels
News Analysis: The government should continue to phase up minimum auto-enrolment contributions beyond 2018 to hit an aggregate 16 per cent, actuaries have said, as part of a longer-term roadmap to build on the policy’s success.
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FeaturesThe Specialist: Investment trends – October 12 2015
How are schemes responding to the latest twists in the investment landscape, including interest rate speculation and global market wobbles? Download The Specialist here to find out how your scheme can raise its defences while gaining returns.
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Features
BBC couples derisking with flexibility for DB members
The BBC is offering a pension increase exchange to its pensioners, upping the options available to defined benefit members just months after offering to pay for advice for those considering transferring out of the scheme.
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FeaturesShowstopper or sunken soufflé? The recipe for a successful trustee event
Any Other Business: The great and the good of the pensions industry will amass in Manchester this week for the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference, but what are the key event ingredients that trustees look for when choosing which events to attend?
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Features
Havering makes about-turn on pooling
London Borough of Havering Pension Fund has reversed its original decision not to join the London Collective Investment Vehicle, making it one of the last of the city’s schemes to take this route to reduce manager fees.
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Features
The Pensions Trust outperforms after investment governance change
Multi-employer scheme The Pensions Trust has changed its investment governance structure to reduce bureaucracy, beating its benchmark in the process.
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Features
Diversified alts temper volatility for Barking & Dagenham
Barking & Dagenham Pension Fund channeled 8 per cent of total assets into a diversified alternatives strategy last year in a bid to quell volatility across its portfolio.
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Features
What prep have trustees made ahead of any tax changes?
Any Other Business: John McDonnell has laid bare his plans to end austerity and tackle the deficit by taxing the rich.
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Features
Lancashire drops bonds in favour of equity, credit and infrastructure
While everyone acknowledges the incredibly high price of gilts in the current environment, which is wreaking havoc with pension scheme funding levels, few have taken the controversial move of getting rid of their allocation to bonds altogether.
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Features
Smiths Group claws back deficit after 8-year fight
Technology and engineering conglomerate Smiths Group has reported a significant improvement in the funding position of its defined benefit pension schemes after pursuing a stringent eight-year derisking campaign.
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FeaturesAG Barr girds funding journey via asset-backed move
Irn-Bru owner AG Barr’s pension scheme deficit deteriorated by £18.4m in the year to January, but it anticipates key manoeuvres including an asset-backed funding plan will support its long-term funding position.