All Covid-19 articles – Page 5
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NewsLGPS assets drop 5% in 2020 as contribution income rises
Local Government Pension Scheme assets fell by 4.9 per cent in 2020 to £276bn, but funds saw increases in membership and contribution income, according to the most recent annual report from the LGPS Advisory Board.
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OpinionNow is the time for schemes to turn attention to social risk factors
The pandemic has turned the attention of many, including pension funds, to social factors, but there are more challenging issues for trustees to address, writes Lauren Wilkinson, senior policy researcher at the Pensions Policy Institute.
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NewsProfit warnings down but half of DB sponsors remain on life support
Profit warnings from listed companies with defined benefit schemes have dropped by two-thirds in the past six months, but more than half remain in the insolvency “danger zone”, according to figures from EY.
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SEI: diversification key response to Covid-19 uncertainty
On the go: Volatility and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic mean pension schemes should focus on diversifying their investment portfolios, while maintaining appropriate liquidity, according to SEI Institutional Group.
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One-year contribution holidays could spur economic recovery
On the go: Conservative peer Baroness Ros Altmann has recommended that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announces a year-long contribution freeze for defined benefit scheme sponsors to boost business recovery.
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OpinionLooking long term for post-pandemic opportunities
Nest’s new head of long-term investment strategy, Liz Fernando, explores some underappreciated asset classes that could prove fruitful for pension fund investors in the years ahead.
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OpinionTrustees must take action to prevent admin operational issues
Cosan Consulting director Philip Dickinson warns trustees about the importance of having an administration contingency plan in place as this task, either performed in-house or outsourced, could suffer with the current pandemic and financial crisis.
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OpinionPension funds set to play a bigger role in solving homelessness
Social housing funds have seen their popularity increase among institutional investors, providing risk-adjusted returns to pension funds, which are also able to meet their fiduciary duties with such investments, writes Karen Ng, investment director at Big Society Capital.
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OpinionTrustees need to up their game to protect member journey
Trustees should up their game when it comes to contingency planning and member communications, as 90 per cent of schemes that have entered assessment at the pensions lifeboat fund could be better prepared, writes Helen Beckinsale, panel service manager at the Pension Protection Fund.
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OpinionSchemes must prepare for a tsunami of admin requests
As a result of the Covid-19 crisis, a tsunami of redundancy, early retirement and divorce requests is facing trustees and administrators, who need to work together to manage additional workloads, points out Cosan’s Consulting Mark Webster.
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OpinionApplying the lessons of coronavirus to climate change
Kempen’s Nikesh Patel explains how current pension schemes’ longevity assumptions do not take into account climate change, which could have a drastic impact on the sector.
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OpinionThe dawn of continuous governance
The pensions industry’s reaction to Covid-19 has ushered in an era of professionalism and frequent monitoring that should arguably have always been the status quo, writes Ross Trustees’ Roger Mattingly.
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News
Covid-19 leads to unexpected interest in bridging pensions
On the go: The coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in the number of defined benefit scheme members looking to bridging pensions, according to a report by Aon.
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Opinion
Putting flesh on the bones of the new NHS life assurance scheme
Royal London’s Moira Warner dives into the details of the government’s new solution to help the families of NHS staff who die from coronavirus.
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Lockdown spikes fears of democratic deficit in LGPS
As the Covid-19 crisis unfolds, there could be a worrying governance and democratic deficit in some local authority pension schemes, with only 27 per cent of councils having virtual pension committee meetings.
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Longevity swap investors warned over collateral calls
A spike in the UK mortality rate due to Covid-19 could raise concerns for defined benefit pension schemes that have implemented longevity hedging, as it could trigger collateral calls on their longevity swaps.
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Opinion
How will pandemic affect employer contributions longer-term?
Over the past few weeks, the Pensions Regulator has been publishing a range of guidance for schemes and employers, which among other easements effectively gives the green light for trustees to consider the deferral of deficit reduction contributions for a period of up to three months.
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OpinionChinese equities – are investors ignoring the free lunch from diversification?
As China’s economy gradually returns to normality with apparently low ongoing rates of Covid-19 transmission, its lack of correlation with other developed and emerging markets is becoming apparent, writes RisCura’s Lars Hagenbuch.
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OpinionKeeping conferences alive during lockdown
The Pensions Management Institute vice-president Tim Phillips discusses the importance of conferences for the pension industry – put on hold due to the current Covid-19 crisis – and how new technologies need to be developed so cross industry-collaboration and professional networking can continue to flourish.
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How will DC stand up to Covid-19 pandemic?
The Covid-19 emergency is taking its toll on the defined contribution savings space, with master trusts reporting small numbers of employers missing contributions and businesses grappling with the pensions implications of furloughing and redundancies.