All Pinsent Masons articles – Page 3
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News
Scheme goes to court to avoid £10m rules drafting mistake
An orthotics and prosthetics manufacturer has been forced to go to court to amend a word in pension scheme rules drafted 20 years ago, which if left unchanged would have cost the plan £10m.
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News
Britvic reaches interim agreement on CPI/RPI linking
Soft drinks manufacturer Britvic has reached an interim agreement with the trustees of its defined benefit pension scheme over controversial plans to switch pension increases based on the retail prices index to the lower consumer prices index.
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News
Government signals an end to flawed RPI
On the go: The end may be nigh for the flawed retail price index of inflation, after the chancellor announced plans to consult on whether to align it with a version of the consumer price index between 2025 and 2030.
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News
Cadbury completes £520m buy-in with Rothesay Life
On the go: The Cadbury Mondelēz Pension Fund has completed a £520m buy-in with Rothesay Life covering payments for 1,900 pensioners.
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News
Govt admits its pension forecasts have ‘significant’ inaccuracies
Pensions minister Guy Opperman was forced to admit “significant” problems with inaccurate state pension forecasting on Tuesday, raising fears hundreds of thousands of pensioners could be paid less than forecast.
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News
DOIs: Could a cup of coffee lead to £1m DB fine?
A lack of clarity on proposed new legislation means a meeting over a cup of coffee to discuss a corporate transaction could cost an employer up to £1m in civil fines if a declaration of intent is not made in advance, according to law firm Pinsent Masons.
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News
Firefighters case demonstrates need for clarity over pensionable pay
A recent High Court decision that overtime payments for firefighters in Wales are pensionable has highlighted the importance of clarity and collaboration regarding pensionable status when new types of pay are introduced, lawyers have said.
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News
Trustees not responsible for bad IFA transfer work, scheme professionals say
Advisers to pension schemes have hit out at proposals that British Steel Pension Scheme should award discretionary payouts to members who mistakenly left the plan, saying it shifts the blame for bad financial advice on to trustees.
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Podcasts
Podcast: What can we learn from the Barnardo's outcome?
Podcast: Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that Barnardo’s cannot change the inflation protection it provides to members of its defined benefit scheme from the retail price index to the consumer price index. So, what does the result mean for other DB pension funds and their sponsors? Matthew de Ferrars, pensions partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, and Faye Jarvis, pensions partner at law firm Hogan Lovells, discuss what trustees can learn from the recent Barnardo’s outcome.
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News
Supreme Court: Barnardo's wording does not allow RPI/CPI switch
The Supreme Court’s rejection of an attempt by Barnardo’s to downgrade its pension increases is a reminder that courts are unlikely to bend rules to accommodate the commercial needs of defined benefit sponsors, according to legal experts.
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News
High Court: Schemes must equalise GMPs
Defined benefit schemes must equalise guaranteed minimum pensions between men and women, the High Court has ruled, in a decision that could cost FTSE 100 companies alone an estimated £15bn.
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News
Government to legislate for CDC
The Work and Pensions Committee has published a letter from Guy Opperman, minister for pensions and financial inclusion, which indicates the government’s intention to lay primary and secondary legislation for collective defined contribution schemes.
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News
Plumber wins workers' rights case
The Supreme Court has upheld a verdict that Gary Smith, a former contractor who carried out work for Pimlico Plumbers between 2005 and 2011, was indeed a worker at the company and was consequently entitled to workers’ rights there.
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Opinion
ESG investing has little to do with ethics
Environmental, social and governance factors, commonly known as ESG factors, have sparked debate in the pensions world for many years and given rise to much confusion.
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Opinion
GDPR - A brave new world for the pensions industry
It is easy to imagine bunkers in remote corners of England, hatches locked, filled with trustees who are desperate not to hear any more about the General Data Protection Regulation.
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Opinion
Superfund – shoot first
Editorial: The Department for Work and Pensions has kept its word with the publication of its highly anticipated white paper, even managing to deliver it ahead of its spring target.
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News
Fines for DB negligence leave industry split
Employers who wilfully or recklessly put their defined benefit pension schemes at risk are in the firing line of new punitive fines announced in a government policy statement released on Monday.
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News
Sainsbury’s tackles bills with DB scheme merger
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is hoping to save on pension costs by combining its two defined benefit schemes, a move advisers say can also bring strategic alignment for the sponsor.
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News
Attractiveness of deferred debt arrangement remains to be seen
Employers in multi-employer pension schemes will now be able to delay the requirement to pay an employer debt when they cease accrual in the scheme, but opinions are divided on how attractive this will be.
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News
High Court backs employers in Wedgwood dispute
The High Court has ruled in favour of participating employers in the Wedgwood Group Pension Plan, who terminated their liability to contribute to the scheme in 2006.