North East Scotland Pension Fund plans to establish a dedicated governance team – incorporating communication responsibilities – to deal with the increased workload produced by local government pension scheme reforms. 

Industry experts have predicted the use of enhanced transfer value exercises could increase as employers look to encourage switches out of defined benefit plans in light of the Budget changes, but trustees have been urged to ensure members receive adequate advice. 

Participating employers of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme will face an increase in their pension costs, due to a reduced discount rate, following government efforts to control public spending.

A report released last week found smaller employers may consider decreasing basic pay to implement auto-enrolment, while experts said implementing the reform will lead to a focus on benefit structure. 

Unite is considering establishing a collective defined contribution scheme, as union groups voice their support for defined ambition benefit structures that share risk between employees.