All Aon articles – Page 18
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News
Smaller schemes combine service provision to reduce legacy burden
Leading benefit consultancies have reported more small to medium-sized schemes are bundling services under a single provider in response to a growth in legacy arrangements and to benefit from economies of scale.
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Features
USS revamps covenant assessment model in face of funding challenge
The Universities Superannuation Scheme has opted for a more thorough covenant assessment due to changes in higher education funding and an expected increase in its deficit from this year’s triennial valuation.
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News
IASB proposal could hit sponsor-scheme funding strategies
A proposed change to pensions accounting guidance around surpluses could lead to trustees having to renegotiate their financing arrangements with employers and shifting towards non-cash vehicles.
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News
Schemes have scope to delve deeper into illiquids, but confidence lacking
Defined benefit schemes are showing increased interest in illiquid alternatives as they hunt greater yield and diversification, but many lack sufficient resources and the confidence needed to execute such investments.
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Features
Imperial Tobacco ups employer contributions after funding drop
Imperial Tobacco has increased contributions to its UK defined benefit scheme to boost its winding-up funding level, which has dropped by 12 percentage points, according to its latest valuation.
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Features
Barking and Dagenham plans social housing investment to hedge inflation
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Pension Fund plans to invest around £25m in social housing in order to hedge against inflation and diversify away from traditional assets.
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Opinion
Avoiding a talking shop: how to get more out of your trustee meeting
Any other business: Economist and diplomat John Galbraith once said: “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” But with fiduciary duty weighing heavily on trustees, board meetings must be a forum for effective decision-making.
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Opinion
Where do we stand on pot-follows-member after the Budget?
Aon Hewitt’s Geraldine Brassett in this edition of Technical Comment discusses the prospects for the government’s small pension pot consolidation reform following the historic Budget changes, and how the scheme could work.
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Features
How the DA pensions bill could affect your scheme
Schemes have been left pondering how their benefit structures would be considered under the the government’s latest pensions bill, which codified three types of pension scheme, including “shared risk” schemes.
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Features
Islington to build on residential property bet in alts push
Islington Council’s pension fund plans to reduce its allocation to equities and diversify further into alternatives, in a stated desire to gain greater and more stable returns.
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News
Buy-in market predicted to reach new heights
The amount of scheme liabilities underwritten by insurers is expected to reach a record high this year as buy-ins become more affordable and scheme confidence grows, derisking consultants have said.
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News
Collective schemes to be enforced by valuation and reporting framework
Collective schemes – which pool members’ assets and risk – will have to comply with new valuation and reporting requirements, under initial proposals outlined yesterday in the Queen’s Speech.
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NewsGilt yield falls confound expectations and depress funding
Investment advisers have been taken by surprise by the recent drop in government bond yields which have inflated schemes’ liabilities and delayed derisking strategies.
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Features
Second-tier wins out against core property investments
The ground underneath the bricks and mortar asset class trembled after the downturn in 2008, when a housing and mortgage implosion triggered the global financial crisis.
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Features
LPFA reports doubling in employers needing covenant review
The London Pensions Fund Authority’s risk-based approach to setting contribution rates has identified around twice the number of employers that may need to provide greater solvency guarantees after its recent valuation.
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Opinion
Criticism of fid man selection and transparency is unfounded
Aon Hewitt’s Sion Cole mounts a robust defence of the fee structures, manager selection and performance metrics at play in fiduciary management mandates, in the latest Informed Comment.
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Features
Lancashire increases employer contributions to mitigate maturing membership
Lancashire Pension Fund has added lump-sum payments to its annual employer contributions to make up for reduced cash flow from a declining active membership.
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Opinion
What overseas DC systems can tell us about the post-Budget landscape
The retirement flexibility brought about by the Budget has left many schemes wondering how to best implement the at-retirement options.
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News
Low-cost passive DC loses ground as schemes seek ‘smoothed’ returns
The number of FTSE 100 trust-based defined contribution schemes using lower-cost, fully passive management for their default options has dropped by almost a half as diversified growth funds become more popular, research has found.
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FeaturesLafarge doubles contributions to cut deficit
Building materials manufacturer Lafarge has more than doubled its contributions to its UK pension fund after scheme and sponsor negotiated a beefed-up recovery plan to tackle the funding deficit.