News – Page 80
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Webb says government will get tough on pension charges
Pensions minister Steve Webb (pictured) hinted that the government is to take a tough stance on pension charges in an upcoming consultation, which will respond to the Office of Fair Trade’s (OFT) paper on the defined contribution (DC) pension market.During a speech at the National Association of Pension Funds’ (NAPF) ...
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DOD’s blog: Time to stop screaming about an auto-enrolment crunch
This week I have been talking pensions, largely of the auto-enrolment variety, up at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference in Manchester.What has been great is the positive attitude to how well auto-enrolment has gone to date.But with typical British cynacism, pensions experts are wary as to how ...
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Interface Europe changes DB pension adviser
Carpet tile manufacturer Interface Europe has appointed KPMG to provide a range of trustee services for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.These include actuarial and investment consulting, as well as administration and payroll services.The scheme, which is closed to future accrual, has around £100 million of assets and 1,400 members.Simon ...
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48% will stay in pension post-auto-enrolment
Almost half (48%) of respondents will remain in their employer’s pension scheme once they have been auto-enrolled, according to research by information specialist EDM Group.Its research, which surveyed 1,586 employees, found that less than a quarter (23%) have either immediately opted out of their employer’s pension scheme post-auto-enrolment or plan ...
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Confidence in pensions rises to 59%
Confidence in pensions among employees has risen in the past 12 months, according to research by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).Its Workplace pensions survey, which measures employees’ perspectives on workplace pension savings and their preparations for retirement, found that confidence, particularly among staff already saving into a pension ...
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Government announces auto-enrolment changes
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced new changes to auto-enrolment legislation, which are aimed at making it easier for future tranches of employers to enrol their employees into a pension scheme.The government received 112 responses to its consultation launched in September 2012 and has now finalised amendments to ...
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Ceridian launches auto-enrolment product for SMEs
Ceridian has launched an off-the-shelf auto-enrolment product for small and medium-sized employers (SMEs).The technology and service providers’ product aims to help organisations with between 499 and 59 employees that will reach their staging date in 2014 and reduce the administrative burden of complying with auto-enrolment.It is delivered through Ceridian’s HRevolution ...
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Kodak Pension Plan to set up new DB scheme
The Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) is to launch a new defined benefit pension scheme for its members.Almost all (92%) of the previous scheme’s members voted in favour of the establishment of the new plan, while less than 1% voted to enter the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and 7% have yet ...
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JLT Employee Benefits completes DB pension buy-in
JLT Employee Benefits has completed a buy-in contract with Prudential for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.The JLT UK Group Pension Scheme, which has liabilities of £120 million, has purchased an annuity to secure future benefit payments, reducing the volatility of the scheme’s projected funding requirements.The scheme has around 4,000 ...
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Mills & Reeve aligns auto-enrolment with flexible benefits
EXCLUSIVE: Mills and Reeve has aligned pensions auto-enrolment with its annual flexible benefits enrolment window.The law firm has 888 UK employees, but will also include 80 new employees who are part of the June 2013 merger with law firm George Davis.Samantha Neaves, reward and HR information systems manager, said: “Following ...
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Ineos Refining consults on DB pension closure
Ineos Refining is consulting with employees on the closure of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.If it does not do so, it faces the risk of having to close its Grangemouth petrochemicals plant near Falkirk, Scotland. The plant, which provides nearly all of Scotland’s petrol and diesel, will close before ...
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Increased openness to wider pension investment strategies
More than a third (40%) of respondents are open to the idea of investing in new asset classes, according to research by Aon Hewitt.The consultancy’s survey of more than 750 delegates at its annual pension conferences highlighted the increasing willingness of trustees to consider a wider range of asset classes ...
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Midcounties Co-op appoints Towers Watson
The Midcounties Co-operative has appointed Towers Watson to manage the investment portfolio of its £145-million defined benefit pension scheme.Towers Watson’s delegated investment service provides an integrated approach to managing assets against liabilities for all sizes of pension funds.Chris Ford, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) head of investment at Towers ...
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Tesco pension deficit rises to £2.4bn
Tesco has reported a net pension deficit of £2.4 billion, a rise from the £1.8 billion deficit reported at the last year end on 30 March 2013.The retailer’s Interim results 2013/14 reported that this was due mainly to the reduction in real corporate bond yields leading to a fall of ...
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FTSE 350 pension deficits rise to £98bn
The estimated aggregate deficit for the defined benefit (DB) pension schemes of FTSE 350 companies stood at £98 billion at 30 September 2013, according to research by Mercer. This is equivalent to a funding ratio of 85%.Its Pensions risk survey found that asset values increased by £4 billion over the ...
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Grant Thornton overcomes AE postponement challenges
EXCLUSIVE: Grant Thornton opted to postpone auto-enrolling its employees by three months, but found that the move presented significant challenges.The professional services organisation opted to auto-enrol its staff on 1 October, three months after its staging date of 1 July.Employers must offer employees the ability to auto-enrol on their official ...
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Philips insures defined benefit pension
Electronics manufacturer Philips has entered into a bulk annuity transaction for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.The policy, with insurer Rothesay Life, is being held by the trustee of the Philips Pension Fund and covers £484 million worth of liabilities.It provides the pension scheme with a secure, low-risk asset with ...
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Employers do not view auto-enrolment as beneficial
More than two-thirds (69%) of respondents do not think pensions auto-enrolment will be beneficial for their organisation in the long term, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.Its HL Employer attitudes survey, which questioned 100 employers, found that 76% of respondents think they should get more recognition for implementing auto-enrolment.The research ...
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Appetite for pension de-risking remains strong
The appetite for pension de-risking solutions remains strong among both employers and trustees, according to a report by JLT Employee Benefits.Its Buyout market watch update found that total de-risking deals in 2013 are set to exceed last year’s figure of £4.5 billion.In July 2013, the EMI Group Pension Fund completed ...
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More than 1.6m staff auto-enrolled into pensions
More than 1.6 million eligible employees have been enrolled into an auto-enrolment pension scheme, according to a registration report published by The Pensions Regulator.Its Automatic-enrolment report, which covers the period between July 2012 and August 2013, also found that an additional 2.5 million employees who work at organisations that have ...