All Pensions articles – Page 151
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Article
Aegon launches RDR-ready pensions
Aegon UK has launched a flexible pension plan and a group personal pension (GPP) plan that are compliant with the retail distribution review (RDR).Under the RDR, which takes effect from 31 December 2012, pension providers will no longer be able to remunerate independent financial advisers (IFAs) and employee benefits consultants ...
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Article
Towers Watson adds to DC pensions consulting team
Towers Watson has appointed Andrew Cashmore and Martin Knight as DC consultants in its defined contribution (DC) pension consulting team in the north of England and Scotland.Cashmore, who has more than 20 years’ experience in pensions, joins from Buck Consultants, where he worked for the past 15 years as senior ...
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Article
ABI launches annuity rates consultation
The Association for British Insurers (ABI) has launched a consultation on proposals to conduct a regular survey on annuity rates to help those reaching retirement get a good deal.The consultation follows the launch of the ABI code of conduct on retirement choices, in March 2012, which requires its members to ...
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Article
Over £60 billion invested in underperforming pension funds
Some of the UK’s largest individual pension funds are failing to deliver value for money, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.Its Pension investment performance report found that tens of billions of pounds are invested in the UK’s largest pension funds, which have underperformed over the last 10 years.Over the last ...
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Article
Over-50s too optimistic about DC pension pots
Over-50s with defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are too optimistic about the amount of retirement income they will receive, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).The report, Expectations and experiences of retirement in defined contribution pensions: a study of older people in England, supported by the National ...
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Article
Consultations launched on changes to Nest
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and National employment savings trust (Nest) Corporation have launched consultations on amendments to the Nest pension scheme.The DWP consultation seeks views from employers, employees and pension industry professionals on proposed amendments to Nest, including clarifying that employers can voluntarily cease to participate in ...
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Analysis
Flex communication must include auto-enrolment
Employers that will reach their auto-enrolment staging date next year are facing one of the last opportunities to adapt their flexible benefits schemes for pensions auto-enrolment and communicate changes to employees to avoid extra costs, said Mark Baker, senior associate at law firm Pinsent Masons.The most common time of year ...
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Article
Auto-enrolment cost and admin top employer concerns
More than 80% of corporate advisers said that the cost and administration of auto-enrolment are the top worries for employers preparing for the pension reforms, according to research by Aviva.Its Corporate adviser survey also found:67% of respondents said employers are concerned by the cost of meeting the long-term compliance requirements.38% ...
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Article
UK DB funded status improves
The funded status of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in Canada, the Netherlands and the US has declined since December 2011, while the UK has experienced improvements, according to research by Mercer.The greatest decline has occurred in the Netherlands, where the funded status has fallen from 96% to 80%, followed ...
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AnalysisBe sure of data requirements for auto-enrolment
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…Employers with early or imminent staging dates say they underestimated the complexities of auto-enrolment.A first step is to define qualifying earnings, and it is up to the employer to take a view on each component of pay.Opt-out forms must be issued by the pension ...
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Article
Debi O'Donovan: Auto-enrolment has put pensions centre stage
And the word on the street (or at least at the National Association of Pensions Funds’ annual conference last month) is that although we know that such low savings rates (starting at an initial 1% contribution each for employee and employer) will not necessarily give people the retirement they need, ...
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Article
Debbie Lovewell: Auto-enrolment spurs wider financial focus
Barely a day goes by when stories of rising prices and households struggling to make ends meet do not hit the headlines.Just last month, the Home truths study by the National Housing Federation found that the number of working households that are now reliant on housing benefit to pay their ...
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Article
Employers use auto-enrolment to trigger pension reviews
The top triggers for employers to review pension plans are the cost of auto-enrolment and ensuring they get value for money, said Logan Anderson, head of customer relations at The Pensions Trust.“First of all, it is a budgetary review, but also asking, are we getting value for money for what ...
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Opinion
Jill Duggan: Don't leave it too late to plan for auto-enrolment
The press coverage is hotting up and we are seeing adverts on TV and in newspapers. But do employees really know what it is yet and are employers ready?Employers must plan ahead and have a strategy because they will have to make decisions around a complex subject.At Trader Media Group, ...
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Opinion
Mick McAteer: Auto-enrolment will aid inclusion
At the Financial Inclusion Centre, our work covers outright financial exclusion and financial under provision, where people are not making enough provision for their core financial needs.The number of UK households that do not have a pension or are not saving enough into a pension to look forward to a ...
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Opinion
Teresa Dolan: How salary sacrifice fits with auto-enrolment
Initially, there had been some concern over how salary sacrifice would interact with auto-enrolment requirements, given the apparent conflict between the need for permanent changes under salary sacrifice rules and the statutory right to opt out of auto-enrolment.However, HM Revenue and Customs guidance has confirmed that an employer can use ...
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Case Studies
Interaction between pension provider and payroll vital for ISS UK
Its staging date was 1 January 2013, but it has postponed it to March because January is its financial year-end.ISS appointed Now:Pensions to manage 25 to 30 schemes, which are active with between five and 1,000 members. It outsources its payroll functions to Ceridian.Fergus O’Connell, UK group financial controller, says: ...
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Analysis
Call for clarity on pension scheme charges
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…The average annual management charge (AMC) on pensions is less than 1%, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.The Association of British Insurers is calling for greater transparency around pension scheme charges.The National Association of Pension Funds plans to publish an industry code ...
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Analysis
The difference between active and passive investments
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…Passive and active management are simple concepts to understand. Don’t be afraid of the language.Most defined contribution (DC) default funds will be passive arrangements to offer low-cost access to investment markets.Active management can provide higher returns but is not typically used in defaults because ...
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Article
Pensioner pay increases by 50%
Average gross incomes for pensioners have increased by an estimated 50% in real terms over the last 16 years, according to research by the Office for National Statistics.The Pension trends 2012 report found that occupational pensions were a “significant” source of income for pensions. The other source of income is ...