All Pensions articles – Page 28
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Article
Family Building Society completes £30 million defined benefit transfer
Family Building Society has completed a pension transfer to its Defined Benefit (DB) Complete Master Trust, from its previous DB scheme. The £30 million scheme, successfully agreed with TPT Retirement Solutions, will bring its 350 members onto the scheme, with 66 currently active in a cash balance section.The move is ...
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Case Studies
Infographic: Total reward during the Covid-19 pandemic
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Supplier article
Busy Bees Benefits: Engaging With Your Workforce About Pensions
The introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012 meant that more employees than ever have been saving for retirement without having to actively engage. Regardless, it is still generally accepted that the current minimum contribution levels will not create enough retirement income for the average person.It therefore remains critical that employers work ...
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Article
Confessions of a benefits manager: Candid arranges crisis pensions training
The way Big Bad Boss is carrying on you would think there was a global financial crisis. Well, there is a global financial crisis, but surely this is a time for leaders to calmly steer us to a safer place, not to run around like lost children. Sadly, the Higher ...
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Analysis
How can employers ensure pensions are the right savings vehicle in the current climate?
Need to know:The Covid-19 outbreak has opened up many financial short-term issues for employees.Employees may be unaware that they can change their contribution levels to their workplace pension scheme.Financial education is crucial to ensure that all employees understand where their pension contributions are going, and how to alter levels if ...
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Opinion
Jeremy Harris: Pensions remain an attractive form of investment
Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and lockdown have threatened livelihoods across all age groups. Constraints on current income may lead workers to defer financial planning decisions.They may be disinclined to invest following recent falls in markets. This reluctance may be most marked with pensions, which generally cannot be accessed until age 55.However, except ...
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Case Studies
Zurich UK supports employees' financial wellbeing with education platforms
Insurer Zurich UK uses a number of financial education measures to support its 4,500 employees, and has promoted their use during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic to help employees better understand their financial situations and options available to them.Zurich began working with Lifeworks in October 2019 in order to give employees ...
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Opinion
Rosalind Connor: Is the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020 a problem for pensions?
The Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020 received Royal Assent at the end of June, having been pushed through Parliament in record time. There had been much concern in the pensions world that this would damage the position of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes run by employers facing uncertainty, or ...
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Article
Countrywide Farmers completes £100 million bulk annuity transaction
Countrywide Farmers has agreed to a £100 million bulk annuity transitions for its retirement benefits scheme for 360 deferred members and 712 retirees. The scheme was first initiated in March 2018, entering a pension protection fund, negotiated with Legal and General. The successful deal enables the organisation to secure benefits ...
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Article
Vodafone completes DC pension transfer for 45,000 members
Telecommunications business Vodafone has completed a pension transfer of 45,000 members of its UK defined contribution scheme to a master trust arrangement.Previously, Vodafone ran its own single-employer trust-based DC scheme for its members but wanted to provide greater flexibility for members at retirement, as well as provide more environmental, social ...
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Article
Premaberg Holdings completes £5 million bulk annuity transaction
UK manufacturer Premaberg has completed a £5 million bulk annuity buy-in of Premaberg Holdings Retirement Benefits Plan with Just Group.The deal, which was completed in conjunction with Mercer, is the first step to securing the defined benefit (DB) pension retirement funds of the 64 members that will be affected by ...
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Opinion
Rosalind Connor and Aneliese Sweeney: Regulator's guidance for consolidators is just the beginning
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published guidance for defined benefit (DB) consolidators, setting out the framework for their authorisation and regulation.Specific consolidator legislation had been expected to be included in the Pension Schemes Bill which has now passed through the House of Lords. However, following the omission of consolidators from ...
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Article
TPR increases pension standards and protection of members
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has improved pension industry standards, and protected more schemes than ever before, according to its 2019-2020 Annual Report and Accounts (ARA).The ARA has showcased that the organisation has successfully completed national auto-enrolment, placing 98% of employees onto a pension scheme. Through introduced master trusts, 16 million ...
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Article
HMRC publishes guidance on GMP equalisation
HMRC has published guidance on guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation, providing clarity into how schemes should distribute lump sum benefits when looking to equalise payments.This guidance has been published to explain to schemes how they can handle lump sum payments aligned with changes to GMP, after many schemes were left ...
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Article
House of Lords approves Pension Schemes Bill
The House of Lords has approved the Pension Schemes Bill, which is aimed at improving protection for pension savers and ensuring more guidance for businesses. The bill will now be taken through the House of Commons later this year.The bill will ensure occupational pension schemes are accommodating for climate and ...
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Supplier article
66% of individuals say pensions are far too complicated
Low employee engagement rates remain a critical concern Getting employees more engaged with their pensions remains a critical issue for businesses. Recent research[1] from Cushon, the workplace savings and investment platform, found that one of the biggest reasons for this is that pensions are far ...
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Opinion
Sonya Fraser: A closer look at guaranteed minimum pension conversion
The statutory mechanism for guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) conversion has not been widely used in practice, in part due to uncertainties around how the requirements can (or should) be met.However, now that the decision in the Lloyds case has made it clear that schemes must equalise for the effect of ...
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Analysis
How can employers manage pension risk in the current climate?
Need to know:Some employees have experienced sharp losses which have derailed their retirement plans.Many very low risk default funds have lost money as gilts plummeted.Unfortunate timing of the stock market falls in March will be starkly reflected in annual statements.Covid-19 (Coronavirus) has created a perfect storm for poor decisions ...
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Case Studies
BNP Paribas' pension scheme manages risk through employee communication
The BNP Paribas pension scheme is a mastertrust set up in 2014, formed from legacy schemes that date back to 1987. It has over 20,000 members, of whom 8,000 are active.Ten UK BNP Paribas companies participate, with varying contribution levels. The organisation operates a pensions committee to manage the scheme’s ...
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Opinion
Neil Bowden: Employers can manage pension costs when emerging from lockdown
The first step to mitigating pension costs might be a simple one: surprisingly, according to government figures published in May 2020, 40% of employers have not claimed for the national insurance and pension contributions elements available under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).If an employer is concerned about their pension ...