All News articles – Page 173

  • News

    McCloud: Civil servants to choose between old and new schemes

    2020-03-25T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Members of public sector pension schemes who were victims of discrimination will be allowed to choose whether they accrued service in the old or new schemes, the government announced on Wednesday.

  • News

    Covid-19: Markets bounce back; bulk annuity prices drop

    2020-03-25T00:00:00Z

    While the FTSE 100 registered the biggest one-day gain since 2008, bulk annuities seem to be significantly more affordable than they were before. At the same time, alternative assets have not seen the biggest impact yet. Read our round-up of pensions and finance news about the coronavirus outbreak.

  • News

    Northumberland and Tyne and Wear schemes plan merger

    2020-03-24T00:00:00Z

    The government is planning to merge the Northumberland County Council Pension Fund into the Tyne and Wear scheme, in a move that would generate savings of up to 12 per cent a year.

  • News

    Diversification helps Nest mitigate FTSE slump

    2020-03-24T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Diversification in Nest’s default funds seems to be paying off, as the government-backed workplace pension scheme has seen a decrease of 17.6 per cent since the beginning of this year, while the FTSE 100 has fallen by 34.3 per cent.

  • News

    PASA to tackle cyber crime and fraud with new working group

    2020-03-24T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Pensions Administration Standards Association has created a cyber crime and fraud working group, aimed at creating standards to better protect pension schemes and their members.

  • Houses of Parliament
    News

    MPs’ scheme under fire for dragging feet on climate change

    2020-03-23T00:00:00Z

    The pension scheme for MPs is not doing enough to combat the risks posed by climate change, according to a divestment campaign backed by 360 current and former parliamentarians.

  • News

    Plumbers’ scheme braced for legal battles over employer debts

    2020-03-23T00:00:00Z

    Trustees of the £2bn Plumbing and Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme have asked a Scottish court to let them use plan assets to fund legal battles, after an unnamed participating employer commenced action against the fund.

  • News

    Altmann calls for six-month pension transfer hiatus

    2020-03-23T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Former pensions minister Ros Altmann is calling for pension transfers to be put on hold for six months, as fund values could be significantly inaccurate due to the current market turmoil.

  • News

    HSBC ahead of curve with TCFD compliance

    2020-03-23T00:00:00Z

    As the government seeks powers to mandate pension schemes to disclose their climate change risks, the HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Scheme is already on its second report under the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

  • News

    BA schemes agree acquisition and leaseback of Ted Baker HQ

    2020-03-23T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The trustees of British Airways’ pension schemes have moved to capitalise on businesses’ need to refinance amid the Covid-19 pandemic, purchasing the London headquarters of struggling fashion retailer Ted Baker.

  • News

    Deferral of DB contributions ‘may be appropriate’

    2020-03-22T00:00:00Z

    On the go: New guidance for defined benefit trustees accepts that some employers may need to delay deficit repair contributions due to economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, but urges schemes to test employer claims carefully.

  • News

    Volatility exposes trustees’ slow reaction times

    2020-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Volatility playing havoc with defined benefit funding ratios may speed the transition towards fiduciary management and consolidation of final salary schemes, according to governance specialists.

  • News

    BoE’s return to QE adds to DB woes

    2020-03-20T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Bank of England has cut its base rate to a historic low of 0.1 per cent, while announcing plans to increase its balance sheet of bonds by £200bn.

  • News

    Govt backtracks over policy on Ssas consolidation

    2020-03-19T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Department for Work and Pensions has been forced to clarify that small self-administered schemes will not be included in its push for consolidation of subscale defined contribution arrangements, following industry backlash.

  • News

    Could AE contributions be paused amid Covid-19 crisis?

    2020-03-18T00:00:00Z

    Halting companies’ mandatory pension contributions could form part of government remedies to support businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, pension specialists have argued, since protecting jobs is as important as saving for retirement.

  • News

    ITV given six months to fund pension scheme

    2020-03-17T00:00:00Z

    On the go: ITV has been given six months to fund the Box Clever pension scheme after it lost its eight-year legal challenge against the Pensions Regulator.

  • News

    New guidance for joint GMP rectification and equalisation

    2020-03-17T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Pension schemes considering combining their guaranteed minimum pension rectification and equalisation projects can now follow new guidance published by the cross-industry GMP Equalisation Working Group.

  • News

    LGPS returns to drop by almost half in next decade

    2020-03-17T00:00:00Z

    As the world faces global meltdown and investors are set to receive lower and more volatile returns for the next decade or more, new research suggests that some local authority pension schemes may be overestimating their potential growth.

  • News

    L&G to launch fossil fuel free fund

    2020-03-16T00:00:00Z

    On the go: PensionBee will offer Legal & General’s first fossil fuel-free fund, in response to demand from consumers to exclude oil from their pension investments.

  • News

    New all-party group to tackle pension scams

    2020-03-16T00:00:00Z

    On the go: A cross-party group of MPs and Lords have united to better protect pension scam victims and develop a range of policies to prevent scammers from operating.