News – Page 98
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Pensions auto-enrolment handbook 2013
The handbook examines:the importance of having an integrated plan of actiontechnology, including middlewareadministrative suppportpension scheme governanceThe supplement also analyses the key considerations for employers when deciding on advisers and providers to help them with their projects.
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Removal of Nest restrictions urgent
The government’s Work and Pensions Committee has recommended the national employment savings trust’s (Nest) cap on annual contributions be removed, as well as the ban on transfers in and out of the scheme.In its report, Lifting the restrictions on Nest, the Work and Pensions Committee urged the government to introduce ...
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Adecco rejigs pensions for auto-enrolment
EXCLUSIVE: Adecco UK and Ireland is to harmonise a series of pension arrangements, introduce a multi-employer trust for its weekly-paid staff and a group personal pension (GPP) plan for its monthly-paid staff to comply with its auto-enrolment duties.The group of recruitment organisations has 20,000 weekly-paid staff and 3,000 monthly paid ...
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SR Technics UK completes pension buy-out
SR Technics UK has completed a pension insurance buy-out that covers £200 million of pension liabilities and 2,500 members.Its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme was formerly in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) assessment process. The transaction will enable the trustees of the scheme to grant members an uplift in excess ...
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DOD’s blog: this week in benefits
Today I had the privilege of lunching with the highly regarded John Greenwood (editor of Corporate Adviser and regular writer for the likes of The Sunday Telegraph and Money Marketing).Few journalists are as clued up on pensions as John, so when he has a beef about something it is usually ...
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Most over-50s have never increased pension contributions
More than half (62%) of over-50s who are still in work have never increased the amount they contribute to their pension, according to research by Friends Life.Its Pension savings report, which surveyed 1,606 ovr 50s who have not yet retired, found that, of those who have made adjustments, 56% have ...
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Medically-underwritten buy-ins could equal DB pension savings
Trustees of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes could secure savings of 10% or more by de-risking their pensioner sections through a health and lifestyle underwriting technique, according to a report by the Pensions Institute at Cass Business School.A healthier way to de-risk: the introduction of medical underwriting to the defined ...
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PQM to set tougher standard on pension charges
The National Association of Pension Fund’s Pension Quality Mark (PQM) is lowering its cap on charges from 1% to 0.75% of pot size per year, which employers must meet before they can qualify for the nemchmark.The change, which will come into effect from 1 April 2013, means that pension schemes ...
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Fund price impacts pension provider choice
EXCLUSIVE: The price of funds is the most important considerations for employers when selecting a pension provider for a contract-based pension scheme, according to exclusive research conducted for Employee Benefits by Booz & Co.The Employee Benefits/Booz & Co Default funds survey, which polled 225 employers, found that 84% of respondents ...
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Guide Dogs closes DB plan and prepares for auto-enrolment
EXCLUSIVE: Guide Dogs has closed its final salary pension scheme to future accrual.The charity held a 90-day consultation with its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme members about the closure of the scheme between September and November 2012. The scheme was closed to future accrual on 31 December 2012.Justin Keppler, pension ...
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Scottish Life launches six new investment funds
Scottish Life has launched six new funds within its core investment fund range.The pension provider, which is part of the Royal London Group, now offers 164 funds from 29 fund managers.The new funds include four external funds, three of which are rated by independent investment research consultancy Morningstar OBSR, and ...
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Barclays C&ES launches pensions platform
Barclays Corporate and Employer Solutions (C&ES) division has launched a pensions platform in partnership with Aegon and Zurich.This will provide employers with access to Barclays Wealth and Investment Management’s investment funds, which are suitable for use by employees as default investment options.The offering is being overseen by Katharine Photiou, who ...
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Infrastructure platform secures investors
A platform to support pension funds’ investment in infrastructure projects has secured ten funds as founding investors, reaching £1 billion in investment capital.The Pensions Infrastructure Platform’s (PIP) 10 investing funds are: British Airways Pension Scheme, BAE Systems Pension Funds, BT Pension Scheme, Lloyds TSB Group Pension Schemes, London Pension Fund ...
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Public sector pensions could cost billions
Pensions for public sector workers could cost taxpayers up to £41 billion a year, according to research by the Centre for Policy Studies.Its report, A toxic tangle, found that this figure would be comprised of at least £17 billion in employer contributions and at least £15 billion to cover cashflow ...
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Collective-based pensions identified as future for UK
The future success of the UK pensions market requires a move to collective-based pensions, according to David Pitt-Watson, lead for the Tomorrow’s Investor programme at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and author of Building the consensus for a people’s pension in Britain.Speaking at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace ...
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Over a third of delegates review default fund annually
Reviews of default fund are being carried out annually by 39% of delegates at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings 2013.The poll on default funds taken on the second day of the summit, 1 February, found that 11% of delegates review their pension scheme default fund several times a ...
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Heineken focuses on purchasing power of pension funds
Heineken regularly reviews its default and lifestyle funds alongside annuity prices and inflation to give a better picture on the purchasing power of the funds.Speaking at Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Summit 2013, Carol Young, pensions manager at Heineken, said: “One of the things that we felt very strongly ...
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Consultants under pressure to prove their worth
Pensions consultants face increasing pressure to justify their worth in the new-look pensions world in which providers are offering integrated schemes with in-built governance and employee communication services alongside asset management.Speaking at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Summit on 31 January, Debbie Harrison, senior visiting fellow at The ...
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DWP in consultancy charge review
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is in the midst of a review of consultancy charges, which it deems a legitimate risk to employees’ pensions pots.Speaking at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Summit on 31 January, Bridget Micklem, head of private pensions, policy and analysis at the ...
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Three key drivers for auto-enrolment success
Creating the best environment to make auto-enrolment a success will depend on three key factors, according to Bridget Micklem, head of private pensions policy and analysis at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).Firstly, awareness of the importance of auto-enrolment must be maintained in order to maximise engagement with the ...