All Pensions articles – Page 144

  • Article

    Pension deficits decrease by £33.5bn

    2013-02-13T11:37:00Z

    The aggregate deficit of UK pension schemes has decreased by £33.5 billion over the month of January, according to research by the Pension Protection Fund.Its PPF 7800 index, which measures the funding positions of 6,316 UK private sector pension schemes, found that the deficit at the end of January 2013 ...

  • Article

    Government looks to simplify auto-enrolment

    2013-02-12T11:25:00Z

    The government is to launch a consultation in March on proposals to make auto-enrolment simpler.The proposals are based on feedback received since the implementation of the reforms began in October 2012. These include a list of areas that could benefit from practical and technical improvements, including:Making the assessment of the ...

  • Article

    G1 Group appoints auto-enrolment consultancy

    2013-02-12T11:19:00Z

    G1 Group has appointed a pensions consultancy to help prepare for its auto-enrolment staging date of August 2013.The Scottish leisure operator, which employs 1,800 staff in bars, clubs and restaurants, will receive a full financial analysis of its pension costs and advice regarding the selection of a suitable pension provider ...

  • Article

    L&G to launch DB pension monitoring platform

    2013-02-12T11:05:00Z

    Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) has partnered PensionsFirst to launch an online analytics and monitoring platform for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.The partnership combines LGIM’s understanding of the needs of pension schemes with PensionsFirst’s provision of DB risk analytics and reporting.The platform has been designed for use by governance-constrained ...

  • Article

    Pensions auto-enrolment handbook 2013

    2013-02-11T17:24:00Z

    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.

  • Article

    Removal of Nest restrictions urgent

    2013-02-11T12:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Adecco rejigs pensions for auto-enrolment

    2013-02-08T11:47:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    SR Technics UK completes pension buy-out

    2013-02-08T11:42:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    DOD’s blog: this week in benefits

    2013-02-08T06:02:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Most over-50s have never increased pension contributions

    2013-02-06T12:01:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Medically-underwritten buy-ins could equal DB pension savings

    2013-02-05T11:46:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Infrastructure platform secures investors

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Scottish Life launches six new investment funds

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Heineken focuses on purchasing power of pension funds

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Consultants under pressure to prove their worth

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Collective-based pensions identified as future for UK

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Fund price impacts pension provider choice

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    PQM to set tougher standard on pension charges

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Public sector pensions could cost billions

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Article

    Barclays C&ES launches pensions platform

    2013-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...