Hugh Nolan
OpinionHow should schemes react to stagnating life expectancy?
Last week, the Office for National Statistics released figures showing that life expectancy in the UK has stagnated at 79.2 years for men and 82.9 years for women.
OpinionWhy pension pros need to keep it simple
I have been surprised a few times recently by people making comments showing that they really do not know as much about pensions as they think.
OpinionPutting the USS closure debate into perspective
Pensions in the UK are often divided between the haves and the have-nots.
OpinionIs it too late for CDC?
There appears to be a surprisingly high number of idealists working in pensions these days.
OpinionThe death of DB is yet to be felt
The Pension Protection Fund's latest edition of the Purple Book documents the continued decline of defined benefit schemes in the UK.
OpinionAdd s67 rethink to the Christmas wishlist
My kids know exactly what they want for Christmas, thanks to the magic of advertising and the joy of not realising these things have to be paid for somehow.
OpinionWe need to narrow the pensions gap
A shameful difference in pension entitlements between men and women was highlighted in our recent survey on fairness in pensions.
OpinionThe societal shift hindering good pensions policy
Politicians have a bad habit of tinkering with pensions for short-term gain, but perhaps we can’t really blame them.
OpinionParty politics meets pensions
We have now seen the manifestos of the three main parties – the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, in case anyone is unsure who the big three are these days.
OpinionDB Pensions: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
If someone on average earnings had started saving 5 per cent of his pay in 2000 and invested it in UK equities, he could have accumulated a whopping £65,000 by now.
OpinionWhat effect will a cap on exit fees have on freedom and choice?
Freedom and choice has generated over 1.5m flexible payments totalling more than £9.2bn since April 2015. That sounds like a lot to me, even though there are 4m people aged over 55 who are eligible, so I doubt if many people have been inhibited by exit fees so far.
OpinionNolan: Everyone would gain from more DB to DC transfers
I half expected current gilt yields to generate a flood of transfers from guaranteed defined benefit schemes to flexible defined contribution schemes.
OpinionHow to decide what is in members' interests
The challenges facing trustees of defined benefit schemes have grown dramatically over recent years. At times of such difficulty, it can help to go back to the basic principles of good trusteeship.
OpinionThe Brexit effect on schemes and stats
It is now three months since the historic Brexit vote and frankly, we are still firmly in the realms of extreme uncertainty, despite each of the two camps apparently becoming ever more certain that they were right.
OpinionCan the industry make pensioners happy?
In David Copperfield, Mr Micawber's recipe for happiness is simple: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds, nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.”
OpinionBad cases make bad law
Allied Steel and Wire went into receivership in 2002, with some members at risk of only getting a fraction of their pension before the introduction of the Pension Protection Fund.
OpinionDB-DC transfers are not always a bad idea
Transfers from defined benefit to defined contribution schemes are increasingly common because DC allows members to access savings and low gilt yields have put a high capital value on DB pensions – both factors that can work in members’ favour.