All articles by Benjamin Mercer – Page 31
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NewsSchemes to decide on dashboard data verification levels
Pension schemes and providers will be able to set up their own standards for individual data verification, which could lead to missing information on dashboards if pension funds opt for a risk-averse position.
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NewsMore work needed to make ESG meaningful
Scarcely a week passes without an announcement of a new environmental, social and governance-oriented venture. But experts warn more needs to be done if onlookers are to be confident that words have meaning.
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PodcastsPodcast: Trustees advised to self-certify before Christmas
Podcast: Jo Myerson, trustee director at Ross Trustees, tells Pensions Expert it is important that trustees comply with the Competition and Markets Authority’s self-certification rules early in order to avoid a mad, post-Christmas dash to meet the January 7 deadline. She is joined by David Rae, head of strategic client solutions at Russell Investments, in an episode also covering insolvencies, superfunds and the fallout from the reform of the retail price index.
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2021 could see ‘gold rush’ in DB transfers after 50% drop in 2020
After member interest in transferring out of defined benefit schemes dropped by 50 per cent during the first lockdown, transfer values have recovered and 2021 could even see a “gold rush” in activity.
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NewsOmbudsman rejects ex-plumber appeal to dismiss section 75 debt
The Pensions Ombudsman has rejected an ex-plumber’s appeal against paying £977,000 in Section 75 debt, as an updated trustee board membership tries to address historical issues in the Plumbing & Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme.
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Mad December dash to include GMP top-ups in 2020 accounts
On the go: Around one in six companies face the unwelcome prospect of having to include the cost of guaranteed minimum pensions adjustments in their 2020 annual accounts, according to analysis by LCP.
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RPI reform drives up inflation hedging cost
Demand for inflation hedging is now returning after it was suppressed during the government’s consultation on the retail price index. However, the limited supply of index-linked bonds is itself having an inflationary effect, according to Insight Investment.
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NewsWeekly roundup: It’s not easy being Green
Welcome to Pensions Expert’s roundup of a week in which we bade farewell to a few of the high street’s better-known names, and the Pension Protection Fund brightened everyone’s mood with its new doomsday scenario.
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Alternative strategies could wipe out UK’s £190bn DB deficit
On the go: Alternative approaches to scheme funding and investments could eliminate the UK’s current £190bn defined benefit pension deficit, according to new analysis by PwC.
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Arcadia trustees in talks with The Pension SuperFund
On the go: Trustees of the embattled Arcadia pension funds are in talks with The Pension SuperFund, which could result in the schemes being absorbed by the consolidator.
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GardaWorld offers G4S trustees £770m funding package
On the go: Trustees of the G4S pension scheme have been offered a £770m funding package by Canadian security company GardaWorld, the latest development in its attempt at a hostile takeover of the UK outsourcing company.
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Coronavirus pandemic causes one in eight to delay retirement
On the go: The government’s anti-Covid lockdown strategy has forced one in eight people over the age of 55 to delay their retirement, according to new research from YouGov.
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L&G to halve emissions of annuity book by 2030
On the go: Legal & General has announced it is to cut the carbon emissions intensity of its £80.7bn annuity book by 18.5 per cent by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030 as part of its drive to become net-zero by 2050.
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Arcadia, Debenhams the first high street dominoes to fall
High street retailer Debenhams became the latest domino to fall following the collapse of Philip Green’s Arcadia Group on Monday, with the pension schemes of both now entering the Pension Protection Fund assessment period.
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Simplifying language can increase pensions engagement
On the go: Almost half of savers do not know they can choose how much money they pay into their pensions, while a third misunderstand the purpose of auto-enrolment minimum caps, a new report has revealed.
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Majority of schemes struggle to obtain climate risk data
On the go: Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of pension professionals said they lack vital information necessary for them to report on climate risk in their pension schemes, according to a survey from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association.
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NewsGreen pressured to save Arcadia pension schemes
On the go: Philip Green is being pressured to “make good” on promises to 10,000 members of the Arcadia pension scheme as his retail empire is on the brink of filing for administration, which would leave the scheme in the Pension Protection Fund.
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Phoenix launches new ESG default solution
On the go: The UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business has announced the launch of a new defined contribution default solution incorporating environmental, social and governance standards.
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Pension scheme strategies not fit for ‘purpose’
On the go: The number of trustees having to alter their scheme’s long-term plans in the past year suggests pension scheme strategies are “not fit for purpose”, according to new research.
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Cyber security awareness lags as attacks jump threefold
On the go: A third of respondents to a poll by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association confessed they did not know their organisation’s cyber security plans, despite cyber crimes surging by 86 per cent in a single quarter this year.