All articles by Sandra Wolf

  • News

    Opperman tells insurers to do more for savers

    2018-04-26T00:00:00Z

    Pensions and financial inclusion minister Guy Opperman has urged insurers to deliver the products and processes the market is often criticised for lacking, and to defend the pension freedoms policy.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Leonardo Helicopters extends Pie and switches to CPI

    2018-04-24T00:00:00Z

    Leonardo Helicopters has decided to keep its scheme open to accrual but plans to extend a pension increase exchange while tweaking the inflation measure for future benefit build-up.

  • News

    Chatbots, GDPR and scams: Is admin in for a sea change?

    2018-04-19T00:00:00Z

    Technological advances could mean pensions administration is about to become a lot sexier, but while cyber security evolves humans still need education if the industry is to protect pensions data and money.

  • Opinion

    The freedom not to choose

    2018-04-13T00:00:00Z

    Editorial: Default options for would-be retirees are the industry’s new darling, as poor support for savers at retirement still blights the UK pension system.

  • Opinion

    Is ESG on course to become the norm in DC defaults?

    2018-04-10T00:00:00Z

    Late last year the UK government said it was “minded” to make pension fund trustees produce environmental, social and governance statements.

  • Tourist board employers block scheme valuation
    News

    Tourist board employers block scheme valuation

    2018-04-05T00:00:00Z

    The British Tourist Authority and VisitScotland have yet to sign off on their scheme’s 2015 valuation as they are looking to secure guarantees from the UK and Scottish governments, in what has been described as a “torturous” process.

  • Active ownership
    News

    Schemes told to be active owners to ensure long-term returns

    2018-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Pension funds are becoming more active in exercising ownership to improve governance of investee companies, but there is still scope for investors to further integrate environmental, social and governance factors, a panel of experts from across Europe has said.

  • Opinion

    Superfund – shoot first

    2018-03-21T00:00:00Z

    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.

  • Opinion

    Is ESG on course to become the norm in DC defaults?

    2018-03-20T00:00:00Z

    High profile corporate governance failures, campaigns against the use of plastics, and US pension funds criticised for holding gun manufacturers after the latest school shooting – a powerful combination of recent events has pushed environmental, social and governance investing further up the institutional agenda.

  • Illustration by Ben Jennings
    Opinion

    CDC: Two birds in the bush

    2018-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Editorial: The fight for defined benefit accrual is coming to a head at universities after employers showed their hand early in the dispute over pensions.

  • News

    Reuters steps up member comms during sponsor M&A

    2018-03-14T00:00:00Z

    Trustees of the defined benefit schemes of Thomson Reuters have been updating members about the agreed sale of part of the business, as experts stress the fine line between saying too much or too little about a deal.

  • Opinion

    ESG is a growth strategy

    2018-03-09T00:00:00Z

    Editorial: Applying environmental, social and governance factors to investment is no longer the obscure practice of a handful of believers.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Ethics v profit: Should pension funds divest from ‘sin stocks’?

    2018-03-08T00:00:00Z

    PLSA Investment Conference 2018: A debate on investment in so-called sin stocks threw up questions around what it means for pension funds to act ethically, and whether the regulatory risk associated with such stocks makes divestment financially sound.

  • News

    Sainsbury’s tackles bills with DB scheme merger

    2018-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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.

  • Source: Getty Images
    News

    University of Oxford learns hard lesson with Care closure

    2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

    The University of Oxford has introduced a defined contribution scheme for new joiners and is making a number of other changes to reduce costs as universities are waking up to their pension deficits. One expert called the education sector ‘a disaster’ in pension terms.

  • Source: Getty Images
    News

    Scotland’s transport police could get separate scheme section

    2018-02-09T00:00:00Z

    Members of the British Transport Police Force Superannuation Fund are set to be moved to a new section in the scheme from April 2019 if trustees agree, while new recruits will join the unfunded police arrangement or Local Government Pension Scheme.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Combined Nuclear picks TDFs for flexibility

    2018-02-08T00:00:00Z

    The trustees of the industry-wide Combined Nuclear Pension Plan have added target date funds to its defined contribution scheme, having put the move on hold when the pension freedoms were first announced.

  • Opinion

    Industries in turmoil

    2018-02-02T00:00:00Z

    Editorial: The Carillion debacle is still unfolding and could yet reverberate across the professional services industry, while concerns mount over other outsourcing giants.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Nissan defies carmaker trend towards DC

    2018-02-02T00:00:00Z

    Car manufacturer Nissan is consulting on a proposed switch to a career average scheme to reduce the volatility of its pension liabilities, amid recent and proposed moves to defined contribution in the industry.

  • Opinion

    Breaking the habit: Can life events make people more engaged with pensions?

    2018-01-29T00:00:00Z

    Would you be interested in reading about your pension if you had just started a new job? What if you had just got married – or divorced?