All Law & regulation articles – Page 135
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News
Newly defined money purchase plans wake up to actuarial and comms obligations
Trustees and employers offering money purchase benefits may face increased member communication and valuation requirements as a result of the government’s new statutory definition.
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News
Ombudsman: pension liberation reports expected in a 'few weeks'
The pensions ombudsman has said it should be publishing determinations on pension liberation cases within the next few weeks, with trustees hoping the reports will help them on difficult transfer decisions.
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Features
NESPF beefs up governance to prep for Scottish LGPS reform
North East Scotland Pension Fund plans to establish a dedicated governance team – incorporating communication responsibilities – to deal with the increased workload produced by local government pension scheme reforms.
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News
One in four executives taking cash in lieu of pensions
The number of FTSE 250 executives taking taxable cash supplements instead of pensions has risen, according to a survey, as the way high-earners receive benefits has changed in light of lower lifetime and annual allowance limits.
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News
Trade body calls for review of charity pension rules
News analysis: The Charity Finance Group has called for a review to the regulations surrounding multi-employer pension schemes, claiming they can threaten charities’ ability to raise donations.
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Features
Local government schemes reject forced passive CIV proposals
Local authority schemes have rejected government proposals to mandate pooling assets into a passively managed common investment vehicle, but did see benefits in other suggestions put forward.
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News
Environment Agency plans web comms overhaul to boost transparency
The Environment Agency Pension Fund is working on a redesign of its website as part of an ongoing communications drive to boost transparency and engagement among its members.
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News
Covenant-lite market expands as small schemes digest DB code
Small and medium-sized employers’ pension schemes are finding greater access to pared-down, lower-cost covenant assessments following the Pensions Regulator’s revised defined benefit code of practice, which has increased focus on employer strength.
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News
How the Law Commission report affects your scheme
The Law Commission has released what has been branded a “common sense” guide for trustees, clarifying their fiduciary duties in respect of responsible investment as well as weighing in on defined contribution scheme governance.
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Features
How the DA pensions bill could affect your scheme
Schemes have been left pondering how their benefit structures would be considered under the the government’s latest pensions bill, which codified three types of pension scheme, including “shared risk” schemes.
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Features
What the regulator's record-keeping survey can tell your scheme
Many schemes are still failing to properly assess the quality of their common and conditional data, results from the Pensions Regulator’s 2014 record-keeping survey show.
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Features
Schemes line up bulk commutation after Budget grants derisking opp
Consultants have reported more schemes considering bulk trivial commutation exercises, in an attempt to drive down administration costs and liabilities, after the amount members could take as a lump sum was increased.
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News
Schemes face costly tax defeat after HMRC ruling
Defined benefit schemes have been urged by advisers to take steps to ensure they can continue to recover VAT on professional services, following an unexpected legal interpretation from HM Revenue & Customs.
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News
Override sought ahead of state pension reforms
Legal experts have called for a statutory override in scheme rules to avoid members getting more benefits than originally intended from bridging pensions, as the industry approaches the switch to a single-tier state pension in 2016.
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Features
Shell surpasses legal minimum by equalising same-sex spouse benefits
Shell has gone above the legal minimum to guarantee same-sex married couples equal spousal benefits in its defined benefit pension fund, while other schemes have maintained a tiered benefit for same-sex partners.
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News
LLPs forced to consider enrolling partners after Supreme Court ruling
The Pensions Regulator has said limited liability partnerships will have to consider auto-enrolling their partners, after a Supreme Court decision threw their employment status into doubt.
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News
Transfer industry: pot-follows-member transfers can cost just £1
Pension transfer systems have countered concerns raised by industry figures that implementing pot-follows-member could result in high costs, which may be passed onto members.
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News
Employer raises doubts on impersonal retirement guidance
Industry figures have predicted that early engagement and face-to-face guidance will drive take-up of the Budget’s promised guidance guarantee, as the industry debates how it will be delivered.
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NewsPPF targets transparency with insolvency levy changes
Schemes will be able to more precisely focus their efforts to reduce their Pension Protection Fund levy, following the lifeboat’s proposals to make its insolvency risk system more transparent.
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News
PPF assesses out-of-cycle valuations for schemes affected by 'money purchase' definition
The Pension Protection Fund launched a consultation last week to assess the material change in risk to the lifeboat brought about by the changes to the definition of money purchase benefits, which will come into force later this year.