All Society of Pension Professionals articles – Page 4
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Opinion
Bin or bring in – which laws are needed and which have to go?
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: We asked five experts to nominate one law or regulation they would scrap, and another they would introduce. This is what they said.
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NewsTPR prosecutes former BHS owner Dominic Chappell
The Pensions Regulator has said it is prosecuting businessman Dominic Chappell, whose company Retail Acquisitions owned high street chain BHS when it became insolvent, leaving behind an underfunded pension scheme.
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OpinionThe societal shift hindering good pensions policy
Politicians have a bad habit of tinkering with pensions for short-term gain, but perhaps we can’t really blame them.
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Opinion
Could improved understanding revive the annuity?
Analysis: Many savers have been reluctant to purchase an annuity following the government’s introduction of freedom and choice in 2015, but should they be nudged to reconsider their options?
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News
FCA cracks down on transfer advice
Pension consultants have welcomed the Financial Conduct Authority’s adoption of a tough stance on companies advising on defined benefit transfers, calling it a “price worth paying” for member security in retirement.
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OpinionParty politics meets pensions
We have now seen the manifestos of the three main parties – the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, in case anyone is unsure who the big three are these days.
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News
Nolan: Inflexible actuaries and trustees harm DB employers
Trustees and their actuaries must consider the impact of deficits and funding negotiations on struggling defined benefit sponsors, the president of the Society of Pension Professionals has warned.
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Features
JLT scheme deficit shows rate pain persists
The UK pension scheme of consultancy and insurance business JLT Group saw its IAS 19 deficit jump during 2016, as bond yields proved a leveller for schemes of all sponsor types.
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FeaturesPost Office surplus raises union affordability complaints
The Post Office section of the Royal Mail Pension Plan remains in surplus, its latest funding update shows, just weeks after it was closed to future accrual amid union consternation.
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OpinionDB Pensions: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
If someone on average earnings had started saving 5 per cent of his pay in 2000 and invested it in UK equities, he could have accumulated a whopping £65,000 by now.
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NewsSpring Budget focus on self-employed lets industry hope for more
The chancellor’s focus on the self-employed could pave the way for bringing the group into the pension system, some experts have said, as the spring Budget brings no significant news on pensions.
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OpinionWhat effect will a cap on exit fees have on freedom and choice?
Freedom and choice has generated over 1.5m flexible payments totalling more than £9.2bn since April 2015. That sounds like a lot to me, even though there are 4m people aged over 55 who are eligible, so I doubt if many people have been inhibited by exit fees so far.
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Opinion
Looking for a silver lining: Focus shifts to housing wealth as pension incomes hit a high
Analysis: Statistics seem to show that pensioners' incomes are now higher than other people's, but experts say there are many facets to the intergenerational fairness question.
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OpinionNolan: Everyone would gain from more DB to DC transfers
I half expected current gilt yields to generate a flood of transfers from guaranteed defined benefit schemes to flexible defined contribution schemes.
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OpinionNo featherbed
Editorial: Happy Chinese new year! The year of the fire rooster has begun – the first of its kind in 60 years, so is there anything we can predict from looking at the last one?
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NewsRoyal Mail closure consultation could see strike action
Royal Mail Group has begun consulting with active members on closing its section of the Royal Mail Pension Plan, spurring the threat of industrial action from unions if the sponsor does not react positively to their concerns.
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OpinionHow to decide what is in members' interests
The challenges facing trustees of defined benefit schemes have grown dramatically over recent years. At times of such difficulty, it can help to go back to the basic principles of good trusteeship.
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News
Industry divided over CPIH
The Office for National Statistics has recently said it will make the consumer price index including owner-occupiers’ housing costs its preferred measure for gauging inflation next year, so should the government follow suit for pension indexation and revaluation?
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News
Share prices hit by DB deficits could spur fresh derisking drive
Defined benefit pension deficits are dragging down the market capitalisations of FTSE 100 companies, according to a recent study, as investors recognise the difference between disclosed deficits and the cost of securing benefits upon insolvency.
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OpinionThe Brexit effect on schemes and stats
It is now three months since the historic Brexit vote and frankly, we are still firmly in the realms of extreme uncertainty, despite each of the two camps apparently becoming ever more certain that they were right.