News – Page 102
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New PQM brand for multi-employer pensions
The Pension Quality Mark (PQM) is to launch a brand for multi-employer pension schemes in January 2013.The PQM Ready brand is aimed at enabling employers to identify multi-employer schemes that have good governance, good member communications and low charges.Employers that use a PQM Ready multi-employer scheme will be able to ...
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Invensys uses rail sale to plug pension deficit
Invensys will sell its rail division to Siemens as part of plans to provide a long-term solution to its pension scheme deficit.Siemens will assume responsibility for the Invensys Railways Pension Scheme, a defined benefit (DB) plan, which had an IAS 19 deficit of £181 million at 30 September 2012.The sale, ...
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Origen launches pensions product for SMEs
Origen Financial Services has launched a restricted advice pensions and benefits product for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Origen Workplace Solutions offers a package of modules on pension, risk, benefits, governance, advice and education. It also provides a core auto-enrolment pension product, provided by Aegon, a range of risk benefits at ...
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M&S lowers amount needed to fund DB deficit
Marks and Spencer (M&S) has agreed a 10-year funding plan to tackle its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficit.The funding plan includes cash contributions of £28 million per year from 2013/14 to 2016/17, a reduction on the previously agreed £60 million per year until 2017/18.The retailer said it expects the ...
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Concerns over consultancy charges and auto-enrolment
Pensions minister Steve Webb has expressed concerns about the way consultancy charges might interact with auto-enrolment.In a letter to Otto Thoresen, chair of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), he said: “They should only be deducted from an individual’s pot where there is a tangible benefit to that individual. I ...
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Employers not communicating auto-enrolment
Only 4% of respondents who do not currently have a pension have had their employer discuss auto-enrolment with them, according to research by Canada Life.Its research, which surveyed 1,635 UK workers, found that 96% of respondents who do not already have a pension have not had the change discussed with ...
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Report on pensions auto-enrolment 2012
Employee Benefits’ pension auto-enrolment report highlights the mains topics and issues employers should be aware of around the legislative changes.The report (download PDF) covers:Step-by-step guide to auto-enrolment complianceLegal issues around auto-enrolmentCharles Counsell: Do not leave auto-enrolment plans too lateChoosing a provider for auto-enrolmentMorrisons helps employees to save moneyPaul Gilbody: Rise ...
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Islington Council to invest pension in real estate
Islington Council is to invest £20 million of its £800 million defined benefit (DB) pension fund in residential real estate to reduce liabilities and boost the supply of housing.The fund will hold a diversified mix of new and recently built properties, half of which are based in London and the ...
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Most employees will not opt-out when auto-enrolled
Nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents are likely to stay in a pension scheme once they have been auto-enrolled, according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).Its Attitudes to pensions: the 2013 survey, which polled 1,949 UK adults, also found that almost two-thirds (59%) do not feel they ...
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Lorica adds Aviva’s auto-enrolment product to portal
Lorica Employee Benefits is to integrate Aviva’s online auto-enrolment modelling and compliance product into its auto-enrolment portal Simplicity.The product, Auto-enrolment Manager for Employers (AME), provides employers with a way to prepare for and manage their responsibilities around auto-enrolment. This includes keeping up to date with compliance duties such as employee ...
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ITM to partner PensionsFirst for data audits
ITM, a pension data specialist, is to partner PensionsFirst to offer its Pfaroe risk management platform to enhance its data risk audit service for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.The organisation will use the platform to assess the potential liability impact of data and benefit errors discovered during employers’ data risk ...
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Majority of employers aware of auto-enrolment
The majority (88%) of respondents to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) are aware of their requirements to auto-enrol staff into a pension scheme.Its Labour market outlook: Focus on pension auto-enrolment, which surveyed more than 1,000 employers, found that more than half (59%) of respondents have ...
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Employers to rely on existing technology for auto-enrolment
More than 50% of respondents said they expect to rely on their existing payroll and HR systems to fulfil their auto-enrolment duties, according to research by JLT Benefit Solutions.The latest JLT 250 club survey, which polled around 250 private sector employers, looked at the role of technology in the provision ...
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Local government pensions need better investment governance
The future of local government pension schemes (LGPS) in London is potentially blighted by weak oversight of investment governance, according to research by the Pensions Institute.Its report, An evaluation of investment governance in London local government pension schemes, identifies fundamental flaws in the investment governance of the majority of London’s ...
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Lyreco prepares for pensions auto-enrolment
Lyreco has brought forward its auto-enrolment staging date, switched pension providers, and set up administration software between its payroll and pension provider.The workplace products distributor will use Cerdian’s auto-enrolment administration software, which automatically identifies and enrols employees into the chosen pension scheme.The software aligns the exchange of payroll information from ...
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Johnson Fleming expands auto-enrolment offering
Johnson Fleming has partnered with the national employment savings trust (Nest), Now: Pensions and The People’s Pension to offer a two-tier auto-enrolment option for employers.The agreement enables employers that require a two-tier option to use a single administration and communications platform, rather than running more than one platform.Simon Fletcher, client ...
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Consultation on lifting Nest restrictions
The government has published a call for evidence on the impact of two statutory restrictions on the National employment savings trust (Nest).It is seeking views and evidence on whether the annual contribution limit and transfer restrictions on Nest are influencing employers’ choice of auto-enrolment pension scheme in a way that ...
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Booker Tate completes pensions buyout
Booker Tate has completed a pension insurance buyout for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.The transaction, carried out in conjunction with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), covers £20 million of pension liabilities.The organisation, which provides development, management and technical services to the sugar, ethanol and bio-energy market, was advised by Barnett ...
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DB pension deficits hamper investment
High levels of defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficits are hampering organisations in investing in their businesses, according to research by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Mercer.The Living with defined benefit pension risk report, which surveyed finance directors and other senior leaders on DB ...
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BT's pension deficit increases to £3.1bn
BT Group’s final salary pension scheme deficit has increased from £1.9 billion to £3.1 billion since March 2012.The telecommunications firm published the figure in its financial results for the second quarter and half year to 30 September 2012.The higher deficit reflects the impact on liabilities of a reduction in the ...