Latest articles from Maxine Kelly

Out of reach: How can we close the trustee skills gap?

Any Other Business: If you’re reading this as a trustee and wondering why so many questions are being asked about the future of the role, chances are you’re among the fraction receiving ongoing formal training.

Is engagement keeping pace with pension participation?

Engagement must keep pace with participation

Data analysis: With pension provision expected to rise exponentially over the coming two years – especially in light of the regulator's revised auto-enrolment forecast for smaller employers – it is increasingly important to monitor the links between participation and engagement.

Editorial: One hundred days…

Illustration by Ben Jennings

Last week saw us pass the somewhat arbitrary milestone of 100 days since the introduction of the freedoms, and providers and commentators rushed to give their take on the story so far.

Video: Regulator promises 'short, punchy' DC code

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Video: The Pensions Regulator's chief executive Lesley Titcomb outlines the watchdog's key areas of focus – including a revision of the DC code, the freedom fallout and mastertrust assurance, and touches on the argument for a single regulator (6:11). 

Regulator lists assured mastertrusts to help small employers

The Pensions Regulator is ramping up its efforts to help guide small and micro employers through auto-enrolment and has published a list of approved mastertrusts, as 1.3m organisations prepare for their staging dates.

DB funding snapshot signals need for further hedging

Data analysis: Defined benefit schemes’ aggregate funding ratio rose slightly to 84.8 per cent in June, according to data, but experts say schemes should further hedge liabilities to buffer against underlying volatility in the bond markets.

Editorial: TEE, no sugar

Illustration by Ben Jennings

“Promise made, promise delivered,” was George Osborne’s puffed appraisal of his inheritance tax move, which will add a £175,000 allowance for bequeathed family homes on top of the existing £325,000 threshold. 

Governance drives the game

DC Investment Quarterly: Schemes are being cautious to ensure any DC design decisions made now are malleable enough to be able to respond to future changes.

Editorial: Pass the cashish, it's time to get creative

Illustration by Ben Jennings

No festival is complete without music. As I loitered at the fringes of a marquee, in Wednesday’s sweltering heat, sounds from nearby speakers streamed an eclectic mix of hillbilly country and Mexican mariachi as I watched the panel discussion on foreign exchange.

Five key graphs on Nest's retirement income blueprint

From the blog: The flexibilities did away with traditional thinking on what makes an appropriate default fund, and with it kick-started the debate on the best route for members to access and draw an income from their defined contribution pots.

Since then, government-backed auto-enrolment provider Nest has been hard at it trying to get a handle on the answer.

It followed its earlier consultation with ‘A retirement blueprint for Nest’s members’ – it’s worth noting the specificity of its target audience here, as many schemes and providers across the DC industry have been eagerly anticipating what direction Nest would take before making their own moves.

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