All Pensions articles – Page 127
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Article
Scottish DB pension deficits double to £6bn
Defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficits across Scotland have almost doubled over the past 12 months, from £3.2 billion to £6 billion, according to research by pensions and risk consultancy Hymans Robertson.The Hymans Robertson Scottish pension index, which analysed 27 schemes, found that 18 of these schemes were worse off ...
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Article
United Response sees 3.6% auto-enrolment opt out
EXCLUSIVE: Charity care provider United Response has seen opt-out rates of 3.6% following the implementation of auto-enrolment.Only 52 of the 1,451 employees who were auto-enrolled on 1 October 2013 opted out of its stakeholder pension scheme, which is provided by Friends Life.The organisation now has 2,618 of its 3,500 employees ...
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Article
Third of small employers worried about auto-enrolment
Two out of five (39%) of small employers are worried about the ‘damaging’ impacts of auto-enrolment, according to research by payroll software provider Sage UKI.The research, which surveyed 500 small employers, found that 40% of respondents are worried about the administrative costs of setting up and managing auto-enrolment, while 51% ...
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Case Studies
Towry creates default fund to help staff spread investment risk
The organisation has mirrored the risk profile-based investment approach that it offers to private clients when looking at retirement planning for its own staff. The strategy is a mix of different asset classes.The lifestyle investment strategy Towry created is a blend of a growth-based and a managed approach, a bond ...
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OpinionSimon Chinnery: Plenty of guidance on good governance
Evidence points to the majority of savers wanting someone to take responsibility for their investment decisions, so figures of 70-85% of scheme members opting for the default strategy are the norm. The millions of new savers entering DC for the first time as a result of auto-enrolment is likely to ...
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Article
Standard Life launches auto-enrolment product for SMEs
Standard Life has launched an online auto-enrolment product, aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to manage their legislative duties.The online product, called ’Good to go’, provides:A decision on pension scheme terms in 60 seconds.The ability to set up a new qualifying pension scheme in six minutes.Online support to ...
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Article
TPR launches consultation on defined benefit pensions
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a consultation on defined benefit (DB) pension regulation.Its Defined benefit consultation: setting a balance approach sets out how TPR intends to balance its new objective to minimise the impact on employers’ sustainable growth with its existing DB funding objectives.The new objective is contained in ...
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Article
Broadstone partners Standard Life for auto-enrolment product
Broadstone Corporate Benefits has partnered Standard Life to launch an auto-enrolment product for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that stage from January 2014.Employers will have access to the auto-enrolment product via Standard Life’s group flexible retirement plan.It includes:Online functionality for employers and employees.Unlimited switching for member’s investment funds.An actively-managed default ...
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Article
Micros Systems to streamline pensions for auto-enrolment
Micros Systems is to streamline its six existing defined contribution (DC) pension schemes into a new group personal pension (GPP) plan to comply with its auto-enrolment duties.The service provider for the hospitality and retail industries will auto-enrol around 1,000 employees on its staging date of 1 April 2014.It has appointed ...
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Article
?Aegon UK to move investment platform in-house
Aegon UK is to purchase Novia Investment Services from Novia Financial.The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, will mean the development work on Aegon’s platform, Aegon Retirement Choices, will move in-house.Novia Investment Services was set up as a separate organisation to build and administer Aegon’s platform in 2011.Tommy Young, ...
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Article
91% of pension schemes charge members
The majority (91%) of pension schemes have some form of charge for their members, according to research by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).Its 39th Annual survey, which covered 950,000 defined contribution (DC) pension members, found that 79% of schemes have an annual management charge (AMC), while the employer ...
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Article
42% have never changed their DC pension investments
Almost half (42%) of respondents have never made a change to their defined contribution (DC) pension investments, according to research by AllianceBernstein.Its Defined contribution survey, which questioned 500 employees who save into a DC pension, found that 22% believe changes to pension investments are not their responsibility.The research also found:55% ...
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Article
CIPP launches auto-enrolment self-assessment exercise
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) has launched an online self-assessment exercise that employers can use to check their readiness for auto-enrolment.The answers received through the exercise will form the basis of advice, guidance and support the employers will subsequently receive, in line with their specific levels of readiness. ...
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Article
Ensign launches pensions communications product
Ensign Pensions Administration has launched a product to help pension scheme members communicate with their scheme administrators. The product, Intouch, provides video communications services, which enable employees to receive live face-to-face support from the administration team that looks after their pension.The calls are designed to help employees share and review ...
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Article
Employers align auto-enrolment with flexible benefits enrolment
For example, law firm Mills and Reeve was able to align its auto-enrolment staging date, which was 1 November, with its annual flex enrolment window, which opened on 1 October.The employer already had an 85% take-up in its group personal pension (GPP) plan, and the remaining 15% of staff who ...
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Article
Use of asset-backed contributions on the rise in small pensions
The use of asset-backed contributions (ABCs) to fund smaller pension scheme deficits is on the rise, according to research by business advisory firm Deloitte.Its research, Pension funding solutions: the evolving ABC market, found that 80% of ABCs in 2013 were used to fund deficits of less than £100 million, up ...
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AnalysisFacts and figures on pension schemes
What employers are doing around pensionsTesco pension deficit rose to £2.4 billion.Barbon Insurance took steps to boost pension saving.BMW consulted on DB pension closure.Siemens UK boosted pensions take-up to 98%.Read the digital edition of the Pensions supplement 2013
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Analysis
Contract-based pension scheme comparison table
The plans, set up by employers, include group personal pensions (GPPs), stakeholder schemes and self-invested personal pensions (Sipps), and vary in terms of, for example, contribution levels and investment limits.Read on to find out how each scheme rates. Group personal pension (GPP)StakeholderSelf-invested personal pension (Sipp)Definition:This is an arrangement made ...
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AnalysisCurrent state of play for workplace pension charges
If you read nothing else, read this…The Department for Work and Pensions’ consultation on pension charges includes the introduction of a 0.75% cap on charges, a ban on active-member discounts and an extension of the ban on consultancy charging to include all DC pensions, rather than just auto-enrolment schemes.Charges should ...
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AnalysisHow do bespoke and off-the-shelf default investment strategies compare?
If you read nothing else, read this…Off-the-shelf default investment strategies are more common in contract-based defined contribution schemes.Off-the-shelf plans have less governance responsibilities for employers.Bespoke strategies give employers more flexibility in their investment management.The structure of a default strategy is determined by various factors, such as whether a pension scheme ...