All Pensions articles – Page 158
-
Article
Projected worth of pensions to fall sharply
Employees who are members of personal pension plans will see the projected worth of their pension pots fall sharply from 2014.The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to reduce the projected annual growth rates from April 2014, which will affect plans such as self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) and stakeholder pension schemes. ...
-
Article
PQM awarded to three more employers
Three more employers have been awarded the Pension Quality Mark (PQM), which recognises good quality defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.Global biopharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb was recognised with the PQM for its group personal pension (GPP) plan. Controls and process automation firm Koso Kent Introl and national charity Motability were awarded ...
-
Article
JLT Growth Fund available for use in GPPs
JLT has made its growth fund available to members of group personal pension (GPP) plans.Aegon is the first pension provider to offer this option for employers to include in their GPP investment selection.The JLT Growth Fund was launched in May 2012 for individuals wanting a diversified growth fund.Paul Armitage, head ...
-
Article
The Pensions Trust appoints investment provider
The Pensions Trust has appointed AllianceBernstein as the investment provider for its auto-enrolment product, SmarterPensions.Its auto-enrolment-compliant defined contribution (DC) scheme will be launched in March 2013 and is intended to provide a platform for the pension provider’s qualifying workplace pension schemes.The scheme will use AllianceBernstein’s target date funds as its ...
-
Article
Government plans defined ambition pension
The government has set out proposals to rebuild confidence and trust in workplace pensions.Its paper, Reinvigorating workplace pensions, contains new ideas for sharing the risks more equally between employer and employee, and for helping UK workers get the most out of what they save in a pension.The report includes more ...
-
Article
Paradigm offers GPP alongside corporate wrap
Paradigm Group is to offer an off-platform group personal pension (GPP) plan alongside its corporate wrap platform.The GPP, which is provided by Aegon, is intended to give employers an alternative if the platform approach is not appropriate for them.Anthony Morrow, partner at the Paradigm Group, said: “We are pleased to ...
-
Article
AIB asks former directors to reduce pensions
Allied Irish Banks (AIB) has written to its former senior executives to request they voluntarily reduce their pensions as part of its plans to lower its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficit.The bank first announced its plans in the AIB 2012 Half yearly financial report, which was published on 31 ...
-
Article
Aegon launches range of lifestyle funds
Aegon has launched a range of core lifestyle funds, which aim to provide more certainty about the size of annuity investors can buy as they near retirement.The seven Core Risk Profile Lifestyle Portfolios, which have been designed in conjunction with Morningstar OBSR, each have a different risk profile. The funds ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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% ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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, ...
-
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 ...