All Covenant articles – Page 15
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News
John Laing tackles deficit with £100m alternative financing plan
Infrastructure heavyweight John Laing contributed £100m in cash and equity interests to its pension scheme, as part of a deficit recovery schedule that was revised before floating the company in February.
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News
What the regulator's £8.5m Carrington Wire deal means for your scheme
The Pensions Regulator has settled with two linked Russian companies for £8.5m over their UK pension fund obligations, prompting calls for trustees to re-examine covenant agreements.
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Opinion
Why trustees will be spending more time on PPF certification, not less
It was no surprise the Pensions Regulator’s latest defined benefit code recognised the potential value to both schemes and sponsors of contingent assets where trustees agree “to accept more risk than can be supported by their available employer covenant”.
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Opinion
How the DB code’s employer growth objective affects scheme funding
In a world where just one in five UK sponsors have a ‘strong’ covenant, Spence’s Marian Elliott explains how trustees of such schemes can strike the balance between an appropriate investment risk strategy and reliance on employer contributions.
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Opinion
Where is innovation coming from in fiduciary management?
Barnett Waddingham’s Simon Cohen, Buck Consultants’ Brian McCauley, Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Carolyn Tavares, Russell Investments’ Shamindra Perera, Sackers’ Stuart O’Brien, and Towers Watson’s Pieter Steyn compare experiences of innovation within the fiduciary management arena, in the final part of this discussion.
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Opinion
What you need to know from this week's pensions headlines
It has been another couple of days of announcements in the ever-changing world of pensions.
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Opinion
Four steps to a targeted, practical covenant review
In the latest edition of Technical Comment, Spence’s Marian Elliott runs through four steps that schemes can take to achieve a successful employer covenant review.
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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
Schemes consider money purchase reversion to reduce employer risk
Legal experts have reported that schemes caught by the recent change in the definition of money purchase are trying to amend their benefits structures to remove the additional risk of guarantees.
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Features
Xerox to protect repayment power amid legal uncertainty
Xerox Final Salary Pension Scheme is planning a resolution allowing it to continue to make repayments to its sponsor, but legal experts are split on whether such a move is necessary or will even be effective.
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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
Interest rate uncertainty a concern for employer covenants
Interest rate rises could have a negative effect on covenant strength as some companies are forced to refinance at higher rates, advisers have said, and trustees should keep a watching brief to mitigate any resultant impact on their sponsors' ability to pay scheme contributions.
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Opinion
Employer growth emphasis will separate the wheat from the chaff
In the latest Informed Comment, BDO Pensions Advisory’s Richard Farr analyses schemes’ employer covenant conundrum, arguing the new employer growth objective has harmed the security of members’ benefits.
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News
How the PPF's contingent asset shift could affect your scheme
The Pension Protection Fund will publish in October the conclusion of its consultation on making the certification of contingent assets more transparent, after around half a sample of type A contingent assets failed a stress test.
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Features
Vodafone scheme completes CWW merger with £325m employer payment
Vodafone has contributed £325m to its defined benefit scheme as it completes the transfer of the Cable & Wireless Worldwide Retirement Plan, after purchasing the rival telecoms company in 2012.
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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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News
Trade body calls for review of charity pension rules
News analysis: The Charity Finance Group has called for a review to the regulations surrounding multi-employer pension schemes, claiming they can threaten charities’ ability to raise donations.
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News
Covenant-lite market expands as small schemes digest DB code
Small and medium-sized employers’ pension schemes are finding greater access to pared-down, lower-cost covenant assessments following the Pensions Regulator’s revised defined benefit code of practice, which has increased focus on employer strength.
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News
One in seven trustees think sponsor relationship needs work
Around one trustee on each board feels their relationship with the scheme sponsor needs to be improved, according to a survey of 100 scheme representatives, conducted as fresh regulation seeks to strengthen this bond.
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FeaturesSiemens shrinks deficit with asset-backed funding deal
Engineering and electronics company Siemens has set up a Scottish limited partnership for its UK defined benefit scheme to provide additional security for members, shutting a large part of its deficit and stabilising the company’s cash flow.