All articles by Benjamin Mercer – Page 30
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News
Clarity on dashboards, but delays taint Pension Schemes Act
The government fought off opposition amendments to the Pension Schemes Act in the House of Lords on Tuesday, keeping its dashboards options open — but experts have warned that many of the act’s more substantive changes could be delayed until 2022.
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PodcastsPodcast: New powers in Pension Schemes Act could cause bankruptcies
Podcast: New criminal provisions in the Pension Schemes Act are so broadly drafted that they could strangle legitimate business activity, potentially resulting in unnecessary bankruptcies. So says Arc Pensions Law partner Jane Kola, who, along with Society of Pension Professionals president James Riley, warn about the potentially dire consequences and call for more clarity from the regulator. More cheerfully, this inauguration day episode also covers the future of actuaries, small pots, and Donald Trump’s pension.
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NewsBiden and EU to act as ESG ‘catalyst’ for UK schemes
The confluence of Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president this week and a new raft of rules from the EU in March will serve as a catalyst for the development of environmental, social and governance standards, experts have said.
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New pensions act offences have ‘far-reaching consequences’, LCP warns
On the go: New powers granted to the Pensions Regulator by the Pension Schemes Act could see directors, lenders and trustees made criminally liable for their mistakes, LCP has warned.
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News
Flat fees ban is a ‘sticking plaster’ on small pots wound
The Department for Work and Pensions’ proposed ban on flat fees on pots under £100 should be seen as a temporary stopgap, not a permanent solution to the small pots problem, industry figures have warned.
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NewsNew DB funding code could be delayed until 2022
The Pensions Regulator has issued an interim response that experts say could presage meaningful changes to the final version of the defined benefit funding code, which is likely to be delayed until 2022.
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NewsDWP to ban flat fees for small pots
The Department for Work and Pensions is to ban the charging of flat fees on pension pots under £100 in an attempt to stop their erosion by charges and administration costs.
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News
Trustees should monitor sponsor longevity when assessing covenant
On the go: Sponsor longevity is a vital part of covenant assessment, requiring professional judgement and a range of strategic tools, according to a new report by the Employer Covenant Practitioners’ Association.
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News
Nest to boost private market holdings by 6%
On the go: Nest is to expand its private market holdings from 9 per cent to 15 per cent by March next year, with its investments in illiquids and infrastructure assets expected to exceed a fifth of its £13bn portfolio.
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News
Barclays integrates ESG into £1.3bn sustainable growth fund
On the go: The Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund has announced the integration of environmental, social and governance factors, as well as climate risk, into its diversified Multi-asset Growth Fund.
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News
Calls for actuaries to offer strategic advice as schemes target endgame
An industry group is proposing a radical change in the actuarial role, suggesting these professionals should step away from a technical specialist position to offer strategic advice, while moving away from triennial valuations.
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PodcastsPodcast: Economic uncertainty, DC consolidation, ESG to mark 2021
Podcast: Economic uncertainty from the pandemic and the aftereffects of Brexit, solving the small pots problem and consolidation in the defined contribution universe, and yet more environmental, social and governance regulation are the themes to watch out for this year. These are the predictions for the pensions industry in 2021 from Marc Hommel, senior pensions adviser at EY-Parthenon, and Sue Pemberton, head of technology and DC consulting at Premier Pensions.
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News
Industry needs to do more to combat scams, TPR says
While the Pensions Regulator has pointed the finger at industry saying all parties must do more to tackle the problem of pension scams, members of the Work and Pensions Committee have questioned whether the regulator has itself done enough to help.
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News
Trustees cannot outsource responsibility for cyber risk
On the go: Trustees bear ultimate responsibility for managing cyber risk even when they outsource administration to a third party, and must ensure they carry out due diligence, according to a new report.
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NewsEdinburgh Woollen Mill collapse leaves £17.5m pension black hole
Clothing and homeware manufacturer Edinburgh Woollen Mill’s collapse into administration has sparked fears its defined benefit scheme will not recover the £17.5m owed to it.
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News
Plumbing business freed of DB scheme liability
On the go: UK-based heating and plumbing distribution business Wolseley is set to be freed of its defined benefit scheme liability following its acquisition by a private investment company.
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News
TCFD reporting requirements leave too little time for compliance
On the go: Almost half of respondents to a poll carried out by Eversheds Sutherland expressed a fear that trustees will not have time to comply with new climate change reporting requirements before they are introduced.
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News
Small pots report recommends member exchange trials
The pensions industry should begin work to facilitate mass exchanges of sub-scale defined contribution accounts, according to a government-commissioned working group looking to address the problem of small pots.
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News
Threat of TPR action forces changes to merchant navy trustee board
On the go: A four-year bitter dispute over the running of a naval industry pension scheme has finally been brought to a close by the Pensions Regulator, after it identified governance failings that had cost the scheme £1m.
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News
Aftershocks from 2020 could see wave of DB scheme closures
On the go: The events of 2020, combined with exacerbating longer-term trends, could spark a wave of benefit reviews by UK companies, which in turn could result in a large number of defined benefit schemes closing in 2021, according to a new report by Aon.