All legal articles – Page 8
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PodcastsPodcast: Covid-19 could have killed the PLSA
Podcast: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association “could have died” from the financial damage wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, and was only saved thanks to prudent long-term planning. Richard Butcher, managing director of PTL, reflects on his tenure as PLSA chair in an episode covering guaranteed minimum pensions guidance, master trusts and bespoke indices for environmental, social and governance investments.
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NewsOmbudsman criticises Aon, Willis Towers Watson over benefits error
The Pensions Ombudsman, Anthony Arter, has partially upheld a complaint against Aon and Willis Towers Watson over their handling of a benefits estimation error.
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NewsOmbudsman finds Covid is not an excuse to renege on auto-enrolment
The Pensions Ombudsman has ordered a company to pay £1,000 to five staff members for “distress and inconvenience” after it deducted pension contributions without paying them into the scheme.
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NewsDWP sets up working group to explore ‘statements season’
On the go: The Department for Work and Pensions has established a working group looking at options to develop the ‘statements season’ proposed in its recent simpler annual benefit statements consultation.
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NewsUltra pension scheme set for £100m acquisition windfall
On the go: A proposed £2.57bn cash acquisition by Cobham Ultra Acquisitions of Ultra Electronics Holdings will see the defence company’s defined benefit scheme receive an extra £100m in funding.
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NewsChallenges of green regulation should not be underestimated
On the go: More than a quarter of defined benefit pension schemes are only aiming for minimum compliance with new rules and regulations around climate change, the challenge of which should not be underestimated, LCP has warned.
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NewsPASA updates GMP guidance in light of Lloyds 2020 judgment
The Pensions Administration Standards Association has updated its guaranteed minimum pension equalisation to account for the Lloyds 2020 judgment, setting out the role of transferring schemes and receiving plans in individual transfers.
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NewsOmbudsman criticises civil service pensions administrator
The Pensions Ombudsman has partially upheld a complaint brought against MyCSP, which administers Civil Service Pensions, for causing “significant distress” in its handling of an overpayment case.
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NewsEmployer seeks £265,000 in damages from Plumbing Pensions
A plumbing employer has filed a summons at the Court of Session in Edinburgh seeking more than £265,000 in damages from Plumbing Pensions over its alleged repeated failures to manage the scheme’s Section 75 debt.
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NewsOmbudsman slaps fine on ‘reckless’ trustee for multiple breaches
The Pensions Ombudsman has upheld a complaint against the trustee of a small pension scheme for multiple breaches of trust and instances of malpractice, while demanding they reimburse the scheme to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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NewsDWP’s ‘vision’ for superfunds to be published later this year
On the go: The Department for Work and Pensions intends to set out its “vision” for the future regulation of superfunds in autumn/winter this year, according to its annual report published on Thursday.
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NewsDWP’s move to DC universal charge structure could do ‘serious damage’
Industry commentators are worried about the Department for Work and Pensions’ proposal to introduce a universal annual management charge in defined contribution default funds, warning that the move is premature and could do “serious damage” to the pensions market.
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NewsPASA launches GMP conversion guidance
The Pensions Administration Standards Association has published guidance on guaranteed minimum pension conversion for trustees striving to achieve GMP equality, providing examples of approaches that have been adopted or considered by “early movers”.
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NewsDWP issues ‘stronger nudge’ to pensions guidance consultation
On the go: The Department for Work and Pensions has opened a consultation into regulations requiring trustees and scheme managers to “nudge” individuals to obtain pensions guidance.
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NewsCalls for a ‘rethink’ as dashboards call for input closes
The Pensions Dashboards Programme’s latest call for input closed on Friday. Industry figures, though encouraged by progress made on timescales, said problems stemming from inadequate disclosure regulations and estimated retirement income remain, leading LCP to call for an implementation “rethink”.
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PodcastsPodcast: Tapping DC for Long-Term Assets Fund requires ‘rigorous’ scrutiny
Podcast: HM Treasury’s proposals to tap defined contribution schemes for its new Long-Term Assets Fund is not a bad idea, but problems with daily dealing remain, and it requires the kind of “rigorous” scrutiny applied to other new asset classes. PensionBee chief executive Romi Savova and Jonathan Parker, head of DC and financial wellbeing at Redington, discuss the LTAF, rumours of a tax raid, and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s new Responsible Investment Quality Mark.
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NewsPoor choices under pension freedoms cost savers £2bn
Savers taking advantage of pension freedoms to cash out before retirement have suffered £2bn in lost returns, spurring calls for better financial education, according to analysis by LCP.
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NewsCovid-19 spurs wave of interest in sustainable investing
Almost two-thirds of European asset and investment managers believe that the pandemic has made sustainable investing more important, according to Schroders’ Institutional Investor Study 2021.
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NewsGovt rejects calls for £1.2bn pension boost for mineworkers
On the go: The government has rejected calls to reform the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme that could have seen its members share an additional £1.2bn, a decision critics have branded “intransigent” and a “slap in the face”.
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NewsDesire for cryptocurrencies is ‘deeply concerning’
New research from CoreData has shown almost half of millennials, people aged between 25 and 40, want to invest at least part of their pension in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Experts, however, have warned that cryptocurrencies remain a long way off being a viable investment option.