All Features articles – Page 33
-
Features
SPPA raising the bar on data precision
The Scottish Public Pensions Agency has initiated a project to benchmark its member data against quality criteria set out by the Pensions Regulator, to find more cost-effective ways of improving data accuracy.
-
Features
Encouraging trustees to embrace sustainability
News analysis: Industry experts are coming up with inventive ways to help schemes allocate more of their assets towards sustainable and responsible investments, but pension funds are lagging behind.
-
Features
The DC Debate – improving retirement income
This quarter's debate sees experts discuss the gender gap, decumulation and illiquidity, as schemes strive to attain the best outcome for members close to retirement age.
-
FeaturesKenwake adopts Skype-style pensions comms
Kenwake Pension Scheme has launched online face-to-face video support to make communication with its members more accessible and convenient.
-
FeaturesNuclear fund on course to claw back £1m merger cost
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is close to recouping the £1m it spent merging two schemes into the Combined Nuclear Pension Plan in a bid to save on administration and advisory costs.
-
Features
GMPF to outsource property in investment reshuffle
Greater Manchester Pension Fund plans to outsource the management of its property portfolio in order to hit its 10 per cent asset allocation target, in a review of its external management arrangements.
-
FeaturesAvon fund upgrades software to reduce data risk
Avon Pension Fund has implemented a new software system to gather member information from employers in order to reduce the risk of errors, as it moves to fully electronic reporting.
-
FeaturesWhen is the right time for schemes to derisk?
Rothesay Life's Myles Pink, Spence and Partners' Marian Elliott, Capita's Julie Stothard, the AMNT's Robin Bell and PTL's Kim Nash discuss getting the timing right for derisking – and how to go about it.
-
FeaturesTyne and Wear considers discount rate change to improve funding
Tyne and Wear Pension Fund has considered changing the way it sets the discount rate used to calculate its liabilities, to prevent its funding level falling and large increases in employer contributions.
-
Features
Care provider offers staff AE contribution reprieve
A social care provider is temporarily rolling its cash-in-lieu-of-pension contribution into its auto-enrolment structure, so employees will not have to pay anything in until 2018.
-
Features
PPF widens investment scope to reduce risk
The Pension Protection Fund has targeted a broader range of sophisticated fixed income assets while maintaining a liability-driven investment strategy in order to reduce the fund’s overall risk.
-
Features
Hampshire fund pursues tactical asset allocation
Hampshire Pension Fund has created a new tactical asset allocation portfolio funded from reserves that were temporarily invested in equities.
-
FeaturesThe DC Debate – how will the government's focus on quality help managers?
This edition of our quarterly feature asks DC experts what they would like to see come out of the focus on quality standards, the effect of mastertrusts on the market and getting value through scale.
-
Features
Rexam funding peak triggers risk reduction
Rexam Pension Plan took advantage of a brief funding peak earlier this year to increase its inflation hedging and insure against equity losses, as more schemes implement trigger-based derisking strategies.
-
Features
Pearl ups corporate bonds to manage rate risks
Pearl Group Staff Pension Scheme has increased its allocation to corporate bonds and reduced investment in growth assets to lower its exposure to fluctuations in the market.
-
Features
L&Q segments DC scheme to hone outcomes
London and Quadrant Housing Trust has segmented its defined contribution scheme membership in an innovative review of whether its investment strategy and communication will create good member outcomes.
-
Features
Cambridgeshire diversifies fixed income to up yield
Cambridgeshire Pension Fund outperformed in 2012/2013 after a restructure of its fixed income investments saw it buy European loans to increase yield and protect itself against rising interest rates.
-
Features
South Yorkshire bucks trend with equity allocation
South Yorkshire Pension Authority has increased its allocation to equities over the past three years, concluding that stock selection within its equity portfolios helped it produce positive returns against the benchmark.
-
Features
Essex reduces auto-enrolment costs with transitional delay
Essex County Council opted for a transitional delay to spread costs and reduce work ahead of its employers’ staging date, as a substantial proportion of workers were not scheme members.
-
Features
Bedfordshire offers representation for academies
Bedfordshire Pension Fund has decided to offer academies “observer” status on its pension committee, with the schools representing a growing and increasingly scrutinised proportion of local authority scheme membership.