All Pensions articles – Page 127
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Video
Video: Spencer Roach: Diversity key to Cisco's new default fund
Diversity is at the heart of Cisco’s new default pension fund, said Spencer Roach, total rewards manager at Cisco System, during an interview with Clare Bettelley, associate editor at Employee Benefits. He added that the fund choice is underpinned by a lengthy selection process, to ensure that the employer’s final ...
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ArticleDebi O'Donovan: Employers must collaborate on pension outcomes
Firstly, employers face major constraints in the pension provider market. Default funds have been evolving over the last 20 years and have yet to come into their own as a distinctive, standalone investment choice, rather than an amalgamation of legacy funds and concepts.Secondly, the defined contribution (DC) market operates on ...
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AnalysisHow should employers communicate default funds?
If you read nothing else, read this…Employers must be honest with staff about their savings goals.Employees need to understand how long they may need to work to afford their desired retirement lifestyle.Employers should remove all jargon from their communications.Simon Chinnery, head of UK defined contribution (DC) practice at JP Morgan, ...
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Article
John Lewis plans to cut final salary pension scheme
The John Lewis Partnership has proposed to cut its final salary pension scheme and restructure its pension arrangements in a bid to reduce costs.In March 2013, its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme recorded a pension deficit of £840 million. At the same time, John Lewis Partnership announced it would be ...
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AnalysisAre default investment funds fit for purpose?
If you read nothing else, read this…Employers must offer staff a default fund under auto-enrolment legislation.But the funds are, arguably, not fit for purpose because of their legacy issues and restrictive asset allocation.Regulatory guidance on default fund governance should help default funds to evolve.Pensions auto-enrolment has been dubbed one of ...
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AnalysisWhat should future default fund strategies look like?
If you read nothing else, read this…The default fund strategy of the future should be flexible enough to address employees’ diverse retirement income needs.Asset allocation should be more diverse and include illiquid assets, such as property.But employers must focus on employees’ retirement income, rather than investment returns.Flexibility should be at ...
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AnalysisTop tips for managing default fund strategies
If you read nothing else, read this…Employers should start by identifying their employees’ retirement needs.Employers have a duty of care to ensure employees are financially able to retire.This requires employee education and engagement.Workforce needsEmployers should start by identifying the retirement income needs of their workforce.Andy Dickson, investment director, UK institutional ...
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Video
Video: Madeline Forrester: Default investment strategy should be member-led
Employers’ default pension strategies need to be member-led and cater for their organisation’s average pension scheme member, said Madeline Forrester, head of institutional sales at Axa Investment Managers, during an interview with Clare Bettelley, associate editor at Employee Benefits.“[Employers] need a variety of talents within the group leading [the strategy], ...
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Article
Nortel Networks agrees £23m payment into UK pension
Defunct telecoms organisation Nortel Networks has reached an agreement to pay $37.5 million (£23 million) into its UK pension scheme to settle claims against relevant Nortel parties in the United States.Papers were filed on 17 December in the United States Bankruptcy Court providing details of a conditional agreement between the ...
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Article
Ikea to make one-off €100m pension contribution for performance
Ikea Group is to pay €100 million (£83.6 million) in pension contributions in the first year of its new reward programme.The programme, Tack!, which is Swedish for thank you, aims to reward employees who have been with the home furnishing retailer for more than five years with an employer contribution ...
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Article
BAE Systems launches online tool to manage DB pensions
BAE Systems has launched an online pensions tool to manage and monitor its obligations across all seven of its UK defined benefit pension schemes.The tool, Skyval, from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), provides organisations and trustees with real-time access to information and analysis on their pension schemes’ liabilities, assets, risk and valuations.BAE Systems ...
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Article
Government to raise auto-enrolment threshold
The government has proposed raising the pensions auto-enrolment earnings threshold from £9,440 for 2013/14 to £10,000 for 2014/15.It has also proposed a rise in the lower and upper limits of the qualifying earnings band.Its Review of the automatic-enrolment earnings trigger and qualifying earnings band for 2014/15: support analysis, includes analysis ...
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Article
AstraZeneca agrees pensions longevity swap
AstraZeneca has agreed a longevity swap for its defined benefit pension scheme.The arrangement provides hedging against the longevity risk of around 10,000 of the scheme’s current pensioners and covers £2.5 billion of liabilities. The longevity swap has been agreed with Deutsche Bank, and advised by Aon Hewitt.Matt Wilmington, partner at ...
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Article
Two million UK employees are auto-enrolled
More than two million UK employees have started saving into a workplace pension scheme as a result of auto-enrolment, according to research by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).Its Automatic-enrolment monthly registration report 2013, a rolling report with data starting from July 2012, found that 3,670 employers have confirmed to TPR that ...
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Article
Firefighters in further pensions strike
Firefighters across England and Wales are set to strike on 13 and 14 December over the government’s reforms to their pension scheme.The proposed changes, which were set out in the Public Service Pensions Bill 2013, include a move to career-average pension schemes, instead of final salary schemes, and a set ...
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Article
Cancer Research UK appoints legal advisors to DB pension
Cancer Research UK has appointed Sackers as legal advisers to the trustees of its defined benefit pension scheme.The charity’s pension scheme is closed to new members.Graham Parrott, chair of trustees of the Cancer Research UK pension scheme, said: “Sackers impressed us with its understanding of our needs.”Ian Pittaway, senior partner ...
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Article
Carillion Group agrees DB pension longevity swap
Support services organisation Carillion Group has entered into a longevity swap for five of its defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.The longevity swap, which covers around 9,000 pensioners and has a liability of around £1 billion, aims to hedge against the risk of rising costs as a result of the current ...
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Article
Payroll should be responsible for pensions auto-enrolment
More than a third (39%) of respondents believe payroll departments should be primarily responsible for pensions auto-enrolment, according to research by Iris Software Group.Its research, which surveyed 100 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), found that 13% of respondents felt the legislative changes should be the responsibility of payroll and HR, ...
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Article
Department of Health consults on pensions
The Department of Health has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the NHS Pension Scheme.These proposals include:Increases to employee pension contributions. The NHS is moving in to the final year of the three-year increases to employee contributions. The consultation outlines the proposed increases for 2014/15, which will come in ...
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Article
Cost and administration main auto-enrolment concerns
The ease and cost of auto-enrolment administration and the cost of minimum contributions are the top business priorities around auto-enrolment, according to research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Standard Life.A view from the top survey, which questioned 226 chief executives and board members in organisations, found that ...