All Law articles – Page 2
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News
Industry unmoved by regulator’s DB funding arguments
The introduction of a twin-track approach to regulating defined benefit scheme funding could stifle the creativity needed to navigate the current financial crisis, experts have warned.
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Features
New managing partner for Arc Pensions Law
Boutique law firm Arc Pensions Law has a new managing partner, Rosalind Connor, who succeeds Chris Mullen, its co-founder.
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News
BA pension trustee urges against RPI changes
The chair of Airways Pension Scheme Trustee Ltd, Roger Maynard, has warned that possible reforms of the retail price index could cause great injustices, as well as undermining trust in the issuance of index-linked gilts.
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News
Insolvency bill retains potential to damage DB schemes
Government attempts to mitigate the risk its new insolvency legislation poses to defined benefit pension schemes have only been partly successful, and company moratoriums could still see schemes lose out on valuable contributions, experts have said.
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Opinion
TPR’s superfund green light is only the start
The Pensions Regulator’s new interim regime for superfunds has sounded that starting gun for commercial defined benefit consolidation, but there are still significant hurdles to be overcome, write Rosalind Connor and Aneliese Sweeney of Arc Pensions Law.
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News
No-deal Brexit could deny thousands lifeboat protection
As Covid-19 continues to wreak its devastation on the corporate landscape, dozens of pension schemes could fall into the Pension Protection Fund. However, a no-deal Brexit could scupper that option for up to one-fifth of distressed employers with an EU connection.
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News
Industry bodies lobby government to change insolvency bill
Pensions industry bodies are lobbying the government to make changes to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, which unless revised will “inevitably lead to more pensioners not receiving their benefits in full and greater strain on the Pension Protection Fund”.
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News
Nest member waits two years to recover £80 in missed contributions
The Pensions Ombudsman has finally brought to a close a woman’s two year hunt for £80 in missed contributions from her employer.
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News
Return of the zombies: Can trustees ‘game’ PPF?
Defined benefit trustees linked to struggling employers face tough decisions about whether to tip their sponsors into insolvency or increase their burden on the Pension Protection Fund amid the onset of a global recession, in what experts have called a regulatory grey area.
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News
Premier Foods sets up tasty scheme merger
Premier Foods, maker of Mr Kipling cakes, has reached a groundbreaking agreement to merge its RHM, Premier Foods and Premier Grocery Products pension schemes, a move that the company estimates could save it as much as £145m in contributions.
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News
Ombudsman’s Royal Mail decision opens up Pandora’s box
The Pensions Ombudsman has upheld a complaint against the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme for refusing to pay a deferred pension, providing a salutary lesson for employers who fail to keep adequate records.
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News
Pension Ombudsman awards Police Scotland employee £2,000
Lawyers have cautioned employers to keep their members fully informed of any pension benefit changes, after the Pensions Ombudsman awarded a Police Scotland employee £2,000.
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News
DWP: Government will not dictate schemes’ ESG investments
The government insists it is not intervening in pension scheme investment strategies with a climate change amendment to the pension schemes bill introduced earlier this month.
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Podcasts
Podcast: Regulator should take ‘softly-softly’ approach to DC consolidation
Podcast: The Pensions Regulator should take a “softly-softly” approach to defined contribution consolidation, similar to what happened with master trusts during the authorisation process, where subtle conversations occurred and schemes decided to exit in an orderly manner, according to Adrian Boulding, director of policy at Now Pensions. He and Rosalind Connor, partner at Arc Pensions Law, discuss the response from the watchdog to its consultation of the future of trusteeship and governance, among other topics.
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News
ESG amendments to give govt ‘unprecedented new powers’
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has warned that government bodies will have “unprecedented new powers” to interfere in pension scheme investment strategies if an amendment to the pension schemes bill is passed.
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News
Kent Council fund initiates revamp of its ESG policies
Kent County Council is sprucing up its responsible ownership pension policy as climate concerns become mainstream.
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Opinion
Schemes should be alert to Supreme Court’s part-time ruling
The UK government is facing a compensation bill of hundreds of millions of pounds following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller and others v Ministry of Justice.
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News
Landmark vegan case could disrupt pensions industry
A landmark ruling finding that veganism is a philosophical belief will have a wider impact in the pensions industry, experts say, but warn trustees to avoid making knee-jerk changes to their schemes.
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News
Lawyers demand simpler system to rectify drafting mistakes
Lawyers are urging reform to ease the correction of obvious drafting mistakes in pension scheme rules, after Lloyds Bank was forced to go to the High Court to avoid a £25m hit to its liabilities.
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News
PPF only needs to hike benefits if member faces poverty risk
The European Court of Justice ruling on the Bauer case has been described as a “welcome relief” for the Pension Protection Fund, as the lifeboat will only have to up member benefits if the individual is living below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold.