All Spence & Partners articles – Page 8
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Opinion
Educating your members on the risk of freedom
Analysis: In the 1998 film Armageddon, while battling G-force in a shuttle around the moon, hero AJ Frost asks: “Is this supposed to be like this?”
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News
Deficit quadruples for Johnson Service scheme
Johnson Service Group has seen its defined benefit scheme deficit more than quadruple after a reduction to the discount rate and the closure of the scheme to future accrual.
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Opinion
Winner or loser? How DB funds should approach the new levy scorecard
In December, the Pension Protection Fund published the new levy rules and calculation method, which will apply to the 2015-16 levy, following a consultation with industry stakeholders earlier in the year.
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News
Data suggest schemes would rather fail conventionally than break from herd
Fear of being alone in making a mistake is driving pension funds to knowingly follow ineffective manager recommendations from investment consultants, according to academics.
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News
DC experts cautious on FCA's 'second line of defence'
Defined contribution experts have cautiously welcomed the Financial Conduct Authority’s intervention on a second line of defence for retiring scheme members, but saw upheaval ahead for trust-based schemes.
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News
When it comes to expenses, trustees face having their belts tightened
Rolling into the office after 12 indulgent days of Christmas, trustees and scheme managers may be tempted to brighten up a gloomy January, but scheme expenses could be squeezed this year.
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Opinion
How the DB code's employer growth objective affects scheme funding
The Pensions Regulator last summer published a revised version of Code of Practice 3 for funding defined benefit pension schemes.
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Features
Caterpillar scheme delays derisking over stock volatility concerns
Caterpillar Pension Plan has postponed a decision to cut its equity exposure to increase its liability-driven investment allocation as a result of concerns over stock market volatility.
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Opinion
Justifying the fees: How to get value out of your lawyers
Any other business: "The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but that there are so many answers." This quote, attributed to Ruth Benedict, could easily be applied to the world of pensions law, where achieving consensus among lawyers is an almost impossible task.
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Opinion
Four steps to a targeted, practical covenant review
The latest defined benefit code of practice puts the employer covenant where it should be – right at the heart of all funding and investment decisions that trustees make.
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Opinion
Confronting the scourge of the ever-growing meeting pack
Any other business: Is there a trustee out there that makes it through every page of their meeting bumpf?
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Features
Bromley mulls 10% illiquids allocation as cash flow worsens
The London Borough of Bromley Pension Fund is considering a 10 per cent allocation to illiquid assets to provide greater returns and inflation linkage, in expectation of turning cash-flow negative within seven years.
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Features
NESPF beefs up governance to prep for Scottish LGPS reform
North East Scotland Pension Fund plans to establish a dedicated governance team – incorporating communication responsibilities – to deal with the increased workload produced by local government pension scheme reforms.
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FeaturesSiemens shrinks deficit with asset-backed funding deal
Engineering and electronics company Siemens has set up a Scottish limited partnership for its UK defined benefit scheme to provide additional security for members, shutting a large part of its deficit and stabilising the company’s cash flow.
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Opinion
Checking the price tag: evaluating the charges obsession
Data analysis: The Budget reforms signal an age of greater plurality in retirement possibilities for members.
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Features
SPPA works to curb admin integration risks
The Scottish Public Pensions Agency has produced a contingency plan to mitigate against administrative risks, as it combines the service provisions for two other emergency service public sector schemes.
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Features
NESPF automates employer data submission to plug gaps
North East Scotland Pension Fund is working towards implementing a fully automated process for employers submitting member data, after narrowly failing to hit all the Pensions Regulator’s targets for common data accuracy.
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Opinion
Is the PPF assessment process getting value for DB members?
Since the Pension Protection Fund’s doors opened in 2005, around 600 pension schemes have transferred into it, covering a membership of around 190,000. And around 90,000 pensioner members are now receiving PPF compensation.
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FeaturesWhen is the right time for schemes to derisk?
Rothesay Life's Myles Pink, Spence and Partners' Marian Elliott, Capita's Julie Stothard, the AMNT's Robin Bell and PTL's Kim Nash discuss getting the timing right for derisking – and how to go about it.
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Opinion
Editorial: Bringing pensions into the information age
The 21 century has been deemed the information or digital age. It is thought we are now exposed to as much data in a single day as someone in the 15 century was exposed to in an entire lifetime.