All Pensions articles – Page 148
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Article
EU pension changes could increase costs for employers
Proposed pensions changes from the European Commission could impose £350 billion in extra costs on UK employers, according to a report commissioned by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).The economic impact for the EU of a Solvency II-inspired funding regime for pension funds, collated by independent economic consultancy Oxford Economics, ...
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Article
Employers will communicate auto-enrolment face to face
The majority (86%) of respondents that will reach their auto-enrolment staging date in the next 12 months and have started planning their communications strategy will use meetings or presentations to do so, according to research by Buck Consultants.The research found that 46% will use one-to-one staff meetings. .The research also ...
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Article
UK Coal restructure impacts pensions
UK Coal’s pension schemes have taken the majority share in the organisation’s property business following a restructure.The restructure, which began in March 2012, split UK Coal into separate mining and property businesses. The mining business will continue as employer sponsor of the pension schemes. In return for giving up any ...
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Article
Auto-enrolment spurs increase in benefits spend
One in five (20%) of respondents increased their spend on employee benefits packages in the 12 months leading up to auto-enrolment, according to research by Group Risk Development (Grid).The Group risk employer research study, which polled 500 employers in October 2012, found that one-third (36%) of respondents said they believe ...
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Article
Royal Mail pension deficit reduced by £28bn
Autumn Statement 2012: The transfer of assets from the Royal Mail Pension Plan to the Treasury has reduced public sector net borrowing by £28 billion in 2012/13.It was announced in the the Budget in March 2012 that the liabilities of the scheme, which were around £37.5 billion, would be transferred ...
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Article
DWP to consult on pension deficit recovery plans
Autumn Statement 2012: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will consult on providing The Pensions Regulator (TPR) with a new statutory objective to consider the long-term affordability of final salary pension scheme recovery plans on employers.The government also said it recognises that volatility in measures of pension scheme deficits ...
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Article
Greene King closes DB schemes
Greene King has closed its three defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to future accrual.During the period covered by its half-yearly report, Interim results for the 24 weeks to 14 October, the pub retailer and brewery consulted with the remaining active members of its DB schemes.The schemes were then closed to ...
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Article
Heineken and RSA manage DB pensions risk
Heineken and RSA have introduced a risk management platform to manage their defined benefit (DB) pension scheme risk.The technology platform, PFaroe, is provided by PensionsFirst.International brewer Heineken will use the technology to manage its £2.5 billion in UK DB pension obligations, while global insurance organisation RSA will use it to ...
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Article
More pension funds engaging with stewardship
More than seven out of ten respondents (71%) took stewardship activities and policies of asset managers into account when selecting them, according to research by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).The NAPF Annual engagement survey found that the number of respondents considering stewardship activities increased from 48% in 2011 ...
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Article
Blue Arrow selects plan for auto-enrolment
The Blue Arrow Group has appointed a provider for its auto-enrolment pension scheme.The recruitment firm, which has 30,000 employees, will provide eligible staff with the multi-employer trust from Now: Pensions from its staging date in January 2013.Mark Manaton, managing director at the Blue Arrow Group, said: “Now: Pensions’ Trust is ...
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Article
Scottish Life launches auto-enrolment product
Scottish Life has launched its auto-enrolment product, which is based around three core phases: the design, the implementation and the ongoing running of an auto-enrolment-compliant pension scheme.The design element includes the assessment and modeling of options for pension scheme design; the implement element includes project planning and support with implementation; ...
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Article
Dennis Publishing reviews GPP
EXCLUSIVE: Dennis Publishing has completed a review to ensure its group personal pension (GPP) plan is auto-enrolment compliant, a year ahead of its staging date in January 2014.Alison Hunter, HR director at Dennis Publishing, said: “We’ve done a lot of compliance work with our pension scheme to make sure it ...
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Article
Employers would welcome return of default retirement
Just over half (54%) of respondents would welcome the return of the default retirement age (DRA), which was removed in April 2011, according to research by law firm Irwin Mitchell.The research, which surveyed 421 UK organisations, found that, of those that said the DRA should be reintroduced, 60% would set ...
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Article
Pension Investment Platform confirmed
Autumn Statement 2012: Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the Pension Infrastructure Platform (PIP) will launch in the first half of 2013.The PIP is an initiative that aims to increase the investment by UK pension schemes in UK infrastructure.The government, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and the Pension ...
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Article
Drawdown limit increase branded ‘sellotape measure’
Autumn Statement 2012: The government’s move to increase the capped drawdown limit of pension funds from 100% to 120% has been branded a ‘sellotape measure’ that fails to tackle major issues in the post-retirement market.In his Autumn Statement today, chancellor George Osborne announced that an individual will be able to ...
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Article
New PQM brand for multi-employer pensions
The Pension Quality Mark (PQM) is to launch a brand for multi-employer pension schemes in January 2013.The PQM Ready brand is aimed at enabling employers to identify multi-employer schemes that have good governance, good member communications and low charges.Employers that use a PQM Ready multi-employer scheme will be able to ...
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Article
ICAP selects auto-enrolment system
ICAP is to launch a pensions system in order to comply with auto-enrolment requirements ahead of its September 2013 staging date.Around 1,000 of the interdealer broker’s 1,600 employees will be covered under the new system, which manages pensions administration and communications issues. The remaining 600 staff are already in the ...
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Article
Towers Watson to acquire Oxford Investment Partners
Towers Watson is to acquire Oxford Investment Partners to expand its investment capabilities and strengthen its leadership position in the fiduciary management market.The deal is for an undisclosed sum and subject to regulatory approval. Oxford Investment Partners (OXIP) will become part of Towers Watson’s investment business through the transfer of ...
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Opinion
Debbie Harrison: Changes to DC auto-enrolment schemes in 2013
The new year will witness a sea-change in the distribution of defined contribution (DC) auto-enrolment pension schemes. The government, backed by the Labour party, will introduce a cap (probably 1%) on member charges for all auto-enrolment schemes, driving medium-sized employers to go directly to a multi-employer trust-based scheme with low ...
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Opinion
Michael Rose: Getting more for less in benefits in 2013
Getting more for less has been a growing theme in 2012, and one that I expect to continue in 2013. Organisations will look for tax-efficient, approved benefits arrangements that can deliver value at low or nil cost, such as salary sacrifice. That said, while there will be a growth in ...